Bike hire scheme set to end in Edinburgh

Edinburgh's bike hire scheme is set to end next month after the council's contractor said it was unable to extend its contract.

Serco has run the bike hire scheme on behalf of the city council since 2018.

The initiative was supposed to be self-financing, with revenue generated from bike rentals and sponsorship, including from food delivery service Just Eat.

But over the last three years the scheme has been plagued by vandalism and theft which has driven up costs.

In May, Edinburgh City Council's finance committee was warned Serco was not willing to extend the contract due to the financial risk.

Since then it has not been able to agree terms with the contractor.

Serco said it had explored "every route possible" to extend its three-year contract, which expires next month.

Serco's Sam Jones said: "Despite the scheme making a loss over that time we have not walked away and we have stood by our commitments and continued to make a success of the scheme for the city's people and visitors.

"As was reported in May 2021, funding options were being explored which would have enabled the scheme to carry on however we were informed two weeks ago that City of Edinburgh Council has been unable to confirm those plans."

As it stands, the service will end at midnight on 17 September.

Mr Jones added: "We will ensure that our customers are offered full refunds for existing tickets and passes and that there is a smooth demobilisation of the service."

The council said it is now investigating alternative options to replace the initiative.

Council leader Adam McVey said: "We are very disappointed that Serco have opted to walk away from the popular shared bike hire scheme in Edinburgh.

"When the bike hire scheme was first introduced the commitment was to operate it with no public funding and it is highly regrettable that Serco will not continue the scheme on that basis."

Mr McVey added the initiative has helped more people get access to bikes.

And he said Serco's decision would be a "frustrating shock" to regular users.

The council leader added: "It sends absolutely the wrong message at a time when so many of us are deeply concerned about the climate emergency and what we can each do to combat the effects of human activity."

Story provided by local democracy reporter Joseph Anderson.