The Voi bike hire scheme is to expand south to King’s Buildings and west to Roseburn from Wednesday.
In the next fortnight there will be more bikes placed at designated parking in the city taking the number of electric bikes available to 480. The company says it has another 120 available but will monitor demand for now.
If residents know of a suitable parking space then they are invited to get in touch with the company. Already more than 350 suggestions have been made since the bike hire began in August 2025.
Transport and Environment Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, Stephen Jenkinson, said: “I’m very pleased that we’re moving to the next phase of our fantastic cycle hire scheme. The impressive uptake figures we’ve recorded, showing hundreds of daily journeys across the city, clearly demonstrate the scheme’s popularity and success.
“I’m confident that the scheme will continue to thrive, and before long everyone in the Capital will be able to enjoy this convenient, economical, and environmentally friendly mode of transport.
“Our dedication to improving the city for everyone is further underlined by our bold City Mobility Plan and our serious approach to tackling the climate emergency.”
James Bolton, General Manager for Voi in the UK, said: “We’re so pleased Edinburgh is embracing Voi’s affordable, easy and pollution-free addition to the city’s transport system.
“In the three months since launching, we’ve had over 75,000 trips by nearly 14,000 riders, covering over 200,000 kilometres in total.
“We expect this expanded area may be busier with students heading to class across the southside. Knowing this, we’re taking a cautious and flexible approach to the rollout.
“Working with the council, we’ve carefully chosen parking spots, recognising the busy nature of pavements. We’ve also included parking locations along the City Centre West to East cycle route that connects Roseburn with the city centre and Leith so that more people can enjoy this convenient route.”
Riders must park in the designated parking areas shown in the Voi app. The app also provides a photo of each parking location and guidance on responsible parking. Riders who do not use the designated spaces or who park improperly may receive a warning, and repeat offenders can be fined or even banned.
Misuse of the bikes
We asked Voi to furnish us with information about bikes we thought might have been stolen. On several occasions we had spotted people on bikes (often two people at a time). While these bikes have not disappeared, it seemed likely they had been used without proper payment.
When we asked about theft, a Voi spokesperson said: “At Voi, safety is our top priority, and we take action against rule-breakers. Please report concerns at report.voi.com or [email protected]
“There’s no sign that the e-bikes in question, or any e-bikes in the scheme so far, have been stolen. Red lights indicate bikes are unavailable, and our team is automatically notified to restore them as soon as possible.
“We have been operating 340 bikes in the expanded zone since 31st October. Hundreds rely on our e-bikes daily for affordable, sustainable, and safe journeys.”
And to further underline the point the spokesperson said: “If an e-bike exhibits a red light, it is unavailable and will not be visible in the app. If a user tries to hire it, they will be told the e-bike is unavailable in the app.”
