Bike rental scheme could be rolled out across Cheltenham
The University of Gloucestershire launched a free rental scheme in April to encourage more people to use pedal power to travel from campus to campus.
It has proved so successful councillors want to roll it out to the rest of the town during the summer months.
Tourists and residents would be able to borrow a bike from a docking station and use it to travel around Cheltenham before locking it up again afterwards.
The scheme from the On Yer Bike company allows people to use their mobile phones to set up an account and get a security code to take one of the bikes.
Coun Paul Massey (LD, Swindon Village), cabinet member for sustainability, said: “The university has piloted the scheme and they contacted us saying there are fewer students in the town between July and August and did we want to make it available in town for more people to use.
“We thought this was an excellent idea and we are hoping to develop some plans for it so we can have a town-wide pilot in July and August.”
Cheltenham Borough Council is working with local cycle associations to try to find suitable docking stations.
One example would be having one at the railway station so people could borrow a bike to ride into town, where they can dock it again for someone else to use.
Coun Bernie Fisher (LD, Swindon Village) expressed concerns to the council's environment overview and scrutiny committee that the scheme, which involves setting up an account on a mobile phone, could be confusing for tourists.
Coun Massey added: “The user can set up the account at the bike dock, and I think the majority of people who may want to use it would have access to a credit or debit card.
“It's tourist-friendly.”
Concerns about health and safety were raised during the meeting because the scheme does not come equipped with cycle helmets.
However the On Yer Bike company has said it would be more dangerous to give out helmets which could be ill-fitting on some people than riding without a helmet.
Coun Rob Garnham (C, Park) gave his backing to the scheme, he said: “I think the On Yer Bike scheme is an excellent idea, there might be concerns the bikes could end up all in one place, but until we try it in the town we will never know.”
Andrew Simpson, operations manager at the university, said despite the scheme only running for two months On Yer Bike and the university had been encouraged by the take-up of the bikes.
He added: “Once registered, it is very easy to take a bike out and users have been very positive about the scheme.
“We look forward to seeing the scheme grow further over time.”
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