Council bike hire scheme will be chosen from a shortlist of two

The council will consider broad details of the new cycle hire scheme when it meets next week, but will not actually decide on either of the two companies which have made it to the shortlist.

The decision will be left to the council’s own procurement processes.

Transport Convener, Cllr Stephen Jenkinson, said that councillors attended workshops in February of this year with potential providers vying to offer the service that the council wants to put in place.

The shortlist of two – Dott and Lime bikes – will now be left to officers to progress. At first there are likely to be around 100-200 bikes increasing to around 600 to 800 within the two year pilot depending on interim reviews.

Cllr Jenkinson said: “I have made it clear that there isn’t actually any funding within the council’s budget to deliver a cycle hire scheme for Edinburgh. So I was keen to see if one could be delivered that was at no cost to the council with the risk being absorbed by the providers. We are planning a two year trial – and it will be a dockless e-bike scheme.

“Both providers confirmed that they will be able to get their schemes up and running in a very short timeframe. There are still decisions to be taken, and procurement processes. But I think it’s going to be a relatively short period of time until the legals are completed, and the cycles being on the street.”

The Transport Convener also said that “if the demand is there, then I can certainly see the scheme moving across much of Edinburgh.” He pointed out that this scheme is focussed more on people who might want to use a bike as part of their journey “allowing a different mode of transport”. He said: “I think it’s more about convincing people who don’t actually cycle a at all, or don’t cycle very often that it’s a viable option for them.”

The cycle hire providers will use technology which they demonstrated to councillors including geo-fencing and Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking to run the schemes, and to try to reduce theft. The technology has now moved to such a point that the companies can track each bike and will know whether it is upright or laid on its side.

There will be an app to run the hire scheme with real time availability updates and payment options. Both providers have confirmed they will regularly maintain the fleet of bikes.

The report states: “Stations for bike pick-up and drop-off will be strategically located to maximise accessibility. Locations will be chosen based on foot traffic, proximity to transport hubs, and community centres. Additionally, bike docking stations will be designed to accommodate users in wheelchairs or with other mobility aids, featuring accessible ramps, signage in Braille and large print for enhanced readability.”

The Transport Convener also said that owing to the dockless element which is proposed, bikes can be sited around the city in various locations after they have been deployed in the city centre first.

One of the elements of the scheme which will be key to its evaluation is that “qualitative data” will be available to the council after the pilot phase. This will allow the council to then determine “the long term feasibility and potential expansion of the cycle scheme.”

The previous scheme run by Serco closed in 2021 largely due to vandalism of bikes and docking stations. Although it was investigated a mutually acceptable contract sharing liability with the council’s then Transport for Edinburgh arm was not feasible.

The papers for the Transport and Environment Committee meeting are here.