More get on their bikes since start of lockdown
BIKE-FOR-HIRE venture Nextbike has seen a big increase in membership and usage in Cardiff since the Covid-19 pandemic.
From March to June, Nextbike signed up 14,364 new members, taking the total to 89,496 customers.
In the four-month period it reported 114,383 rentals for its 1,000 standard bikes located at 94 stations across the city.
In the previous four-month period, November to February, it had 9,000 new customers registrations and 101,035 rentals.
Nextbike, which has more than 200 schemes globally, also operates in Swansea.
And it has confirmed that Penarth will be its next location in Wales.
On the outlook for usage in the capital, Nextbike’s UK managing director, Krysia Solheim, said: “We hope that the numbers will continue to rise as more people start to return to work and move around the city again.
“Bike share rentals traditionally reduce during the winter months as the weather gets colder.
“While we still believe the weather will have an impact – especially if we have a bad winter – overall we expect that this year might be different as people continue to practice social distancing and try to avoid crowded public transport options.
“Rentals will also be dependent on what happens with the pandemic over the coming months.”
On expansion in Wales she said: “We’re always on the lookout for new towns and cities that could benefit from the introduction of a bike share scheme.
“We currently operate a scheme in Swansea and will be launching an e-bike scheme in Penarth in the future.”
Nextbike is also hoping to sign up more businesses to its corporate membership scheme.
Ms Solheim said:“We’ve all got an amazing opportunity to take a step back and look at how we could all do things differently – and Cardiff’s businesses have a huge part to play.”