I've been working on & with public bike hire for at least 30 years & have seen the business & legislative models that work & last with sustainable revenues &c
The 1995 CityBikeCPH scheme was well set up & lasted 19 years (free bike hire, controlled area, training scheme for technicians - 80% rising up a career path) until the developments of data communication, folding bikes, EAPC etc changed the operating details radically
In Scotland Section 97 (Roads (Sc) 1984, enables the council to licence all commercial use of public roads so that the operators of bike hire (AND food delivery!) can have T&C & KPI regulated through the Council as independent governance for their duty of care to operate without causing harm.
Because of this Council licensing we never had the same problems with Mobike & OfO flooding the streets with unregulated bikes, and I also tipped Network Rail off when the Donkey Bike scheme started listing the public bike parking at several London Rail Termini as hire hubs, with no permission or licences from Network Rail
I wonder about how the launch of Voi in will impact Edinburgh & Scotrail/Network Rail for sites - eg will the racks at Haymarket, Waverley &c get clogged by Voi bikes without any permission/control?. Are NR & Scotrail prepared to manage this?
Please point out any T&C/Licensing that Edinburgh Council has included by PM
The model I worked on for Glasgow embraced community engagement, by placing the contract for management & maintenance through Bike for Good (which grew out of the Glasgow Bike Station)-this now runs as Velogik a commercial operation with a link to the charity element which is Bike for Good (as happens for many charities to keep these aspects as connected but separate, and often the commercial operation gifts any profits or services to help the charity)
In Edinburgh Serco attempted to work with Bike for Good/Bike Station, but it seemed like there was a corporate culture mismatch?
Velogik is also a contractor for Leeds, where Beryl Bikes has the contract/concession to provide the bike hire, and Beryl is also delivering for Birmingham and Manchester, and Nextbike delivers for Milton Keynes and other locations
I believe that this local 'ownership' and other factors (see later) have delivered the lower rates of 'attrition' for the Glasgow scheme, and especially where the maintenance of the fleet has been integrated with training young offenders with skills (& references) to fill vacancies for technicians on release, much as Timpsons do for their shops/franchises. The 'hidden' benefit is that many of those who have a buy-in to the scheme, also have links to those likely to know those involved with damage to the bikes....(ah the Casa Nostra!) or their grannies use the bikes & even the most 'naughty' kids want to make their granny happy?
Glasgow has also a Council engagement which has connected with groups enduring 'Transport Poverty'. Universities, which generate a massive number of short journeys have reduced the costs for providing car parking, and inter-site minibuses etc, by offering free or discounted bike scheme memberships
New Scots (AKA Refugees/Asylum seekers &c) can sign up for a free Nextbike account, and go out for training, and local exploration/social rides organised with BikeforGood/Sustrans &c
Those with transport poverty can get a 95% discount for an account, as a starting point, enabling them to get to work, or other activities, at minimal cost
We also had the brilliant move of making completely free public access to the bikes during the UCI cycling races where road closures saw some hilarious outcries as those who drove short journeys had those disrupted by road closures found that cycling was both as fast as driving and immune to the road closures that prevented driving. Perhaps Edinburgh could deliver this during the Festival for local residents (see below)
I've also been ditching the term Active Travel in favour of Total Mobility, with its roots in the 1996 project that connected public bike hire with bus passes, plus car clubs, (& tram passes, train tickets etc
One way to rapidly deliver this is with the NEC (Saltire) Bus passes so that young people can get around without struggling to afford the crippling cost of car insurance & running a car, and older drivers can ease themselves out from driving to replace local car trips with cycling, and provide some valuable population health detail, recording cycle use against health benefits in this part of the city population
At the recent Mobility as a service meeting I also connected Lothian Buses with Enterprise Mobility with the prospect that a Ridacard (unlimited bus travel for under £2 per day when the big debate is about a £3 single fare cap!) and this is exactly what I was working on in 1996 30 years ago. The 30 years of Edinburgh's leading role in car club development, also shows that the combination of a bus pass with a car club, and bike hire can massively reduce the size of the private car parc (typically 1 shared car replaces 20 owned cars that sit empty using up land for 95% of their lives. This deal boosts bus use, gets the bike share bikes moving and can rapidly get more car trips made by electric cars, but using fewer cars and fewer charging points - so much faster & cheaper then the £4000 bung to buy new cars with all the caveats
Lastly the base-line revenue which was used from the start in Copenhagen, a core element of revenue to support the delivery was from bike branding (originally Coca-Cola) and based on the current media prices I track from BRAD/Willeys Guide we see the cost for a prime site 6-sheet poster (these pay for bus shelters in Edinburgh & many other cities) you can buy say 40-50 bikes with very mobile branding around the city at same price as a single poster on a bus shelter, and a daily income of £1.40-£1.70 per bike covers the cost of having bikes on the street. Glasgow's contract with OVO has been suspended whilst their retendering takes place, Manchester has Starling Bank, Milton Keynes has Santander.... Edinburgh seems to have nothing?
My PM open & keen to learn more about practical experience with the the Hiyacar scheme that uses the normally idle pool car fleet of East Lothian Council at evenings/weekends for local residents at low cost - there are also schemes with Co-Wheels & Enterprise Mobility (the current Edinburgh car club concession operator) where a corporate car fleet is made available for wider use)
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