Derby ebikes scheme a ride success
Added by Love Business East Midlands | 30 October 2018
UPDATED: 30 October 2018
More than 16,000 trips have been made on Derby’s ebikes since they were launched and locations for more docking stations are being considered.
The ebikes were introduced into the city at the end of June and so far a total of 53,000 miles have been travelled with the furthest trip being 18 miles to Nottingham train station. On their busiest day yet, falling this month, all available ebikes were rented three times each.
Locations for additional docking stations in Derby’s suburbs are now being investigated due to the scheme’s overwhelming success and demand from users.
The ebikes, provided by US-based Social Bicycles, are currently based at 30 docking stations across the city and the scheme is being operated by Hourbike, the UK’s longest established bikeshare operator in the UK.
Customers sign up to use the scheme through the Social Bicycles app or the ebikesderby.com website. They then use their phone number and pin which they tap into a screen on the back of the ebikes to start their rental.
There’s a minimum charge of £1 per rental and a maximum daily charge of £12. It is preferred that ebikes are returned to one of the docking stations but users can lock them securely to other cycle parking, although they may be charged a £2 out of hub fee.
The ebikes were installed in Derby after the city council was successful in bidding for funding from the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, with match funding from the University of Derby.
Sponsors are now being sought for the scheme and Hourbike has announced that Cycle Derby is confirmed as a sponsor for the first 20 bikes.
Mark Smith, Cycle Derby project manager, said:
“Cycle Derby is delighted to be the first sponsor for ebikes Derby. We look forward to using this new and exciting ad space to really promote our service, encouraging more people across Derby, regardless of age or ability, to get active, to get healthy and to have fun on bikes.”
Tim Caswell, owner and managing director of Hourbike, said that the ebikes scheme was going from strength to strength.
He said: "We are thrilled to have Cycle Derby on board and there are still plenty of opportunities for more sponsors to get involved. The Derby public has continued to support the scheme and demand for the ebikes is as high as ever. We have had lots of request for more docking station locations and we will be investigating those along with geo-fenced docks which are shown on the map on our app but are not physically on the ground.”
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