Hundreds of e-bikes for city

HUNDREDS of electric bicycles are expected in Dundee next month.

A fleet of 350 e-bikes will be available for public hire, with docking stations from Broughty Ferry to Ninewells Hospital, if plans are approved by the council.

The proposals for Scotland’s first l argescale electric bikesharing scheme are being led by Ride-On, which operates similar services in Madrid and Miami.

Steve Pyer, Ride-On general manager, said: “If the bikes prove popular then we hope to double the number.

“Ideally in this kind of scheme there would be no more t han 300 yards between docking points. In order to do that, we’d need 600 bikes.

“We have the stations and bikes ready. We’re just waiting for approval.”

Each docking station will be capable of housing up to 20 bikes.

The proposed locations include Panmure Street, Dundee Sheriff Court, Euclid Crescent, City Square and near Yeaman Shore car park.

Others i nclude Mill Street in Broughty Ferry, South Tay Street, and an as yet undetermined location near Ninewells.

Councillor Kevin Cordell, the local a u t h o r i t y ’s cycling spokesman, i s looking forward to the initiative coming to the city.

He said: “They will be a great way for tourists to get around.” K IR KTON residents suffered a sleepless night thanks to boy race r s tearing through the streets on scrambler bikes in the early hours.

Police received a number of calls from residents i n the Craigmore Street and Ashmore Street area on Monday morning, claiming youths were performing wheelies and driving down roads the wrong way.

One person travelling in a car had earlier captured two youths on one bike on nearby Strathmartine Road, having seen two bikes riding side-by-side on the single carriageway on Gillburn Road.

The witness said he feared for the youngsters’ safety during the incident at around 1.30am.

He added: “They initially came off the Kingsway on to Strathmartine Road.

“One of the guys wasn’t wearing a helmet and one of the bikes didn’t appear to have any lights on.

“They were doing wheelies on the roads and driving on the wrong side of it at certain sections.