Earlier today adventurer Mark Beaumont and Council Leader Adam McVey cut the ribbon on the Just Eat Cycles which are now available for hire.
Beaumont is used to covering more distance than the short hop form the City Chambers to Middle Meadow Walk where goodie bags are being given away with three annual subscriptions for the lucky ones!
There are 200 bikes at nineteen locations where you can hire them for rides of an hour for £1.50. First you need to download the app and add in your payment details.
All the custom made Pashley bikes have been named to reflect Scotland’s history and culture. There is a Sherlock and a Greyfriar. We took out Skye last week for an advance look at the new bikes which we found very easy to ride.
We took Skye for a wee hurl along George St last week. Great place to try the bikes – pick up at Charlotte Sq and drop off in St Andrew Sq! Don’t recommend doing one handed filming unless it’s really quiet! Have you tried an @cyclehire_edi bike yet? They are free today pic.twitter.com/vqAVFnynyv
— Edinburgh Reporter (@EdinReporter) September 17, 2018
At the launch, Mark said: “Launching Just Eat Cycles is an exciting step for Edinburgh and the people who live, visit and study here. The app is very simple to use and the bikes will allow everyone to explore our great city.”
Council leader Cllr Adam McVey, said: “The launch of a city wide cycle hire scheme marks a new era in public transport for Edinburgh and the people who work, study and visit here. Investment in cycling infrastructure has gathered pace in recent years in Edinburgh, and this affordable and accessible scheme will complement the existing transport options available to those looking to get around the Capital.”
Just Eat Bikes official launch in Edinburgh – Mark Beaumont with Council Leader Adam McVey
Users can hire bikes through an annual membership, on a daily basis, or for up to an hour using the simplesmartphone app, Just Eat Cycles, available for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play. Bikes can be returned to any cycle hire point at any time, with the closest available stations shown in the app.
Just Eat Cycles uses a pricing structure that allows users to make single journeys from as little as £1.50. Hirers can use ‘extended rentals’ to enjoy trips of more than 1 hour. Trips of over 1 hour will incur an additional £1 charge for each extra 30 minutes.
Other rates include £3 for a day pass, allowing unlimited hires of up to 1 hour each in a 24 hour period. For £90, or £75 during September 2018, users can sign up for an annual membership, allowing hires of up to 1 hour each for 365 days.
George Lowder, Chief Executive of Transport for Edinburgh, added: “It’s a very proud moment to see Just Eat Cycles officially operational and the public riding the bikes. Our vision is for a far-reaching scheme which will attract a broad range of residents, visitors, commuters and students to cycling. We’re delighted with the enthusiasm shown so far by Edinburgh natives and can’t wait to see the bikes in action on a daily basis in the city. I am also hugely grateful to the whole activation team for all their hard work to get us to this point.”
Charles Graham, General Manager of Just Eat Cycles, said: “We’re delighted to now share Just Eat Cycles with the people of Edinburgh. We’re confident that the scheme will offer users a convenient and enjoyable alternative mode of transport for exploring the city and get more people out and about on two wheels.”
Serco worked with the City of Edinburgh Council, The University of Edinburgh and private landowners to create a network of hire points across the city. Further hire points will be added across Edinburgh in a rolling programme.
The 19 original hire locations are listed here (click on any image to see the full list of docking stations):
St Andrew Square
Meadows East
Bristo Square
Canonmills
Victoria Park
Stockbridge
Portobello
St Andrew’s House
Fountainbridge
George Square
Waverley Court
Pollock Halls
Waverley Bridge
Commonwealth Pool
Lauriston Place
Kings Buildings
Victoria Quay
Brunswick Place
Charlotte Square
The Pashley bikes will offer cyclists excellent handling and ride quality, featuring high quality Shimano gears and brakes, comfortable gel saddle, front and rear LED lights, full-length mudguards, puncture resistant tyres (that do not compromise ride quality) and a step-through frame allowing ease-of-use for all cyclists regardless of height. The cycles have a redesigned gear set to suit Edinburgh.
The bikes are equipped with Norwegian firm Urban Sharing’s industry-leading smart technology, including built-in GPS and GSM capability enabling anonymised real-time communication between the bike and back office control systems. This will help Serco to ensure the bikes are well maintained and distributed to the correct hire point locations at the right time to meet customer demand.
The three-year concession agreement between Transport for Edinbrugh and Serco will deliver a total of 1,000 manual bikes by the end of December 2018.
The cycle scheme will also be using innovative technology including the unique hybrid lock provided by Urban Sharing the operators of cycle hire schemes in Oslo Trondheim and Bergen.
Just Eat Bikes official launch in Edinburgh
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
