Capital cycle hire scheme is delayed until autumn
First bikes ready in September and electric models put off until next year
Edinburgh’s long-awaited cycle hire scheme will not now be launched until September – missing the festivals.
The summer start has been delayed, and electric bikes won’t be added to the scheme until around August next year.
A total of 500 manual cycles will be available for rent, starting in the city centre.
Initially, 200 will be available, with 500 by next April.
Also on offer will be 50 electric bikes, which can go about 45 miles between charges.
No prices have been announced but casual users are expected to be charged around the same as the £2 daily charge in London, and more for the electric models,
Confirmation of a deal for the city council-run Transport for Edinburgh (TFE) scheme comes a month after The Scotsman revealed London “Boris Bikes” operator Serco had won the contest to operate the scheme.
It could eventually be expanded to 2,000 bikes, one in six of them being electric. A “high-profile sponsor” is being sought to help fund the project, like Santander in London, at no cost to the city council.
The bikes will be painted cobalt blue after heritage watchdogs urged a more muted hue than Serco’s red.
The Pashley bikes to be used are similar to those being introduced in London. However, they will have a “redesigned gear set to better suit Edinburgh” – to help riders tackle the capital’s hills.
A Serco spokesman said: “We are launching in time for the start of the university academic year. We believe there will be strong interest in the scheme for students and that is the timescale we need to make the scheme operational.”
TFE said last month the threeyear project, which is expectintroduced ed to be extended, was “due to be introduced from this summer”.
Serco said: “We are looking to see what we can do to showcase the bikes during the festivals period.
“The electric bikes will be by the end of the first year of the scheme.”
TFE chief executive George Lowder said the bikes would be introduced later than planned because of lack of time to complete work before the festivals.