New pedal-assisted e-bike hire scheme launches in Newcastle
Cllr Owen Burbidge, Cabinet Member for Inclusive Economy and Skills and Liberal Democrat councillor for West Fenham introduces a new bike hire scheme:
At the end of September Dott bikes launched a new cycle hire scheme in Newcastle, providing residents a proper alternative to car use within the city.
We have taken learnings from previous schemes (eNeuron and Mobike) which have helped shape the conversations we have been having with Dott bikes. This launch will provide people a new choice of how they travel across the city.
Bikes are required to start and finish in a designated geofenced parking zone. There are also a number of no-cycle areas across the city which help shape where people are able to cycle and reduce inconsiderate cycling.
All journeys on Dott bikes are fully tracked end-to-end which will provide us with a rich dataset of where people actually cycle, what times these journeys are made, and where journeys start and finish. We can then use this dataset to help shape cycling provision and transport infrastructure decisions across the city.
This will help us build a proper transport system which better fits residents' needs and the journeys they want to make, allowing them to get to the places or people they want to on the most suitable transport for that journey.
There are also a range of different discounts available to students, blue light card holders and people on Universal Credit which means I'm also hopeful that these pedal assisted e-bikes open up cycling to people who may not normally consider themselves cyclists or who do not have access to their own car.
By providing new options for people to use gives residents transport options and in turn if uptake is good we hopefully will see improvements in congestion, bus journey times, air quality etc. and having a positive impact on all residents across the city, no matter how they choose to travel.
After the soft-launch of just 22 bikes available across the City earlier in September, over 418 people cycled more than 3000km in the first week alone on 851 rides. Journeys were 3.53km on average, with a 97.9% parking compliance rate.
Should the first phase continue to go well, we will then look to slowly expand to allow every resident across the city to benefit from this new addition to our transport system.
