Capital Smart Bikes a first
Cardiff Council has launched a new scheme which will allow people in Cardiff to hire out bikes to get around the city
The Cardiff Smart Bike scheme, run by OYBike and sponsored by the Council and the Welsh Assembly Government through the Sustainable Travel City Project was launched at a Walking and Cycling Conference at County Hall on Tuesday, September 22nd.
The Paris-style scheme, which is the first of its kind to be launched in Wales, will allow residents and visitors to register to use one of a fleet of 70 specially branded and recognisable bikes that will be located at 35 bike stations situated at key points around Cardiff city centre and Cardiff Bay,
Users can either pay an annual £18 registration fee or apply for weekly registration fee of £5. After that, the first 30 minutes of hire are free, and charged at small hourly rental after that.
Bikes can be picked up and dropped off at any of the hire points with no need to return them to their original spot.
The scheme is designed to help encourage more people to take up cycling, with the obvious health benefits this brings, and to help reduce traffic congestion and pollution in Cardiff.
The launch of the Cardiff Smart Bike Scheme will also coincide with European Mobility Week on In Town Without My Car Day (September 22nd) and is part of the Cardiff Sustainable Travel City Project.
Councillor Delme Bowen, Executive member for Traffic and Transportation, said: “I’m delighted to be launching this new scheme today. Once again Cardiff is leading the way as a vibrant and sustainable travel city and these bikes will fit in perfectly into our public transportation network.
“Cycling is a brilliant way to get around Cardiff and a great way to keep fit and healthy. We have a number of good routes in the city, and I am confident that this scheme will prove to be very popular.”
OYBike Managing Director Bernie Hanning said, “We are delighted to partner with Cardiff City Council on this flagship scheme and look forward to welcoming new users to the joys of convenience cycling. OYBike is always looking to develop our technology following customer feedback and this latest design includes a reservation function and the ability for the software to interact with existing transport schemes to provide a fully integrated system. It is my hope this system will be come an iconic part of Cardiff city centre’s offering”.
Richard Nelmes of Cardiff Cycling Campaign said: "We welcome this new scheme. Anything that encourages people to use bicycles is to be welcomed and I hope that this scheme will encourage more people to think about using bikes as a way of getting around the city.”
Jane Lorimer, Deputy Director of Sustrans Cymru also welcomed the scheme, adding: “We are really excited at the arrival of the bike scheme in Cardiff. Residents and visitors alike will benefit from the easy-to-access bikes being available for short journeys. Evidence from other schemes shows that schemes like this can be very useful in giving non-regular cyclists their first taste of being on two wheels, which then leads to them cycling more regularly.”
For more information on the Smart Bikes including locations, rates and to register, visit www.oybike.com
23/09/2009
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