News: Coppard on the charge as South Yorkshire mayor greenlights £2m for hundreds of e-bikes
People in South Yorkshire will be able to hire e-bikes and take them home as part of a first-of-its-kind scheme being launched by Mayor Oliver Coppard.
It comes at the same time as Rotherham Council scraps multimillion pound active travel schemes.
Other city-based schemes around the country generally see users booking bikes for short trips and needing to find suitable spots to drop them off. In South Yorkshire, the scheme, part of The People’s Network, involves e-bikes being made available as a long-term loan, for an affordable monthly price.
A £2m tender for e-bikes plus accessories (helmets, locks etc) is underway with a planned launch next spring.
South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “The idea at the heart of the South Yorkshire People’s Network is that transport should work for everyone in South Yorkshire, giving us all freedom and choice about how we travel and move.
“That’s why we’ve designed this pioneering new e-bike subscription service; because it’s not enough to simply build bike lanes and cycle networks, we need to give everyone the chance to use them.
“So, from next spring, people across South Yorkshire will be able to hire a new e-bike on a long-term loan, for an affordable monthly price. That’s potentially game changing for anyone who wants to make different travel choices but has been priced out up to now.
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“I’m proud to say we’re the first place in the country to develop this type of scheme, but I know we won’t be the last. South Yorkshire is leading the way again, putting the public back in public transport.”
Backed by initial investment of £1.3m from SYMCA, the £2m tender allows further procurement should the project succeed.
The scheme has been shaped by research showing how e-bikes can help people travel further and make everyday journeys easier, and data from the short-term loan schemes operating in Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield.
With transport costs continuing to put pressure on households, the scheme’s flexible, first-of-its-kind tiered pricing model will help make sure cost does not put the brakes on opportunity.
It forms a key part of South Yorkshire’s Walking, Wheeling and Cycling Strategy, supporting plans to make walking, wheeling and cycling more realistic, accessible options for more people.
In Rotherham, the Journey Matters project already loan out both pedal bikes and electric bikes for free to the people of Rotherham for between one and three months. SYMCA rejected allocating capital to local authorities to deliver local e-cycle subscription services stating that "it would impact our ability to brand as a SYMCA proposition."
Following Rotherham Council carrying out a number of high profile, multimillion pound cycle lane schemes, Rothbiz reported recently that a £10.7m cycle lane and roundabout scheme proposed for Stag Roundabout and Wickersley / Broom Road would not go ahead. A £7.6m scheme to support active travel for pedestrians and cyclists and improve traffic flows at a Templeborough roundabout has also been stopped in its tracks.
This issue of cycle lanes was discussed at a recent full council meeting with a petition presented by opposition councillors, and backed by 3,600 signatures, calling for a review of CRSTS Active Travel schemes, a reallocation of funding to focus on road safety, and a review of the council's Active Travel Strategy.
Journey Matter website
Images: A Different Gear / Journey Matters
It comes at the same time as Rotherham Council scraps multimillion pound active travel schemes.
Other city-based schemes around the country generally see users booking bikes for short trips and needing to find suitable spots to drop them off. In South Yorkshire, the scheme, part of The People’s Network, involves e-bikes being made available as a long-term loan, for an affordable monthly price.
A £2m tender for e-bikes plus accessories (helmets, locks etc) is underway with a planned launch next spring.
South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “The idea at the heart of the South Yorkshire People’s Network is that transport should work for everyone in South Yorkshire, giving us all freedom and choice about how we travel and move.
“That’s why we’ve designed this pioneering new e-bike subscription service; because it’s not enough to simply build bike lanes and cycle networks, we need to give everyone the chance to use them.
“So, from next spring, people across South Yorkshire will be able to hire a new e-bike on a long-term loan, for an affordable monthly price. That’s potentially game changing for anyone who wants to make different travel choices but has been priced out up to now.
Advertisement
“I’m proud to say we’re the first place in the country to develop this type of scheme, but I know we won’t be the last. South Yorkshire is leading the way again, putting the public back in public transport.”
Backed by initial investment of £1.3m from SYMCA, the £2m tender allows further procurement should the project succeed.
The scheme has been shaped by research showing how e-bikes can help people travel further and make everyday journeys easier, and data from the short-term loan schemes operating in Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield.
With transport costs continuing to put pressure on households, the scheme’s flexible, first-of-its-kind tiered pricing model will help make sure cost does not put the brakes on opportunity.
It forms a key part of South Yorkshire’s Walking, Wheeling and Cycling Strategy, supporting plans to make walking, wheeling and cycling more realistic, accessible options for more people.
Following Rotherham Council carrying out a number of high profile, multimillion pound cycle lane schemes, Rothbiz reported recently that a £10.7m cycle lane and roundabout scheme proposed for Stag Roundabout and Wickersley / Broom Road would not go ahead. A £7.6m scheme to support active travel for pedestrians and cyclists and improve traffic flows at a Templeborough roundabout has also been stopped in its tracks.
This issue of cycle lanes was discussed at a recent full council meeting with a petition presented by opposition councillors, and backed by 3,600 signatures, calling for a review of CRSTS Active Travel schemes, a reallocation of funding to focus on road safety, and a review of the council's Active Travel Strategy.
Journey Matter website
Images: A Different Gear / Journey Matters
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