At last there us news of the arrival of the Canadian EAPC hire scheme promised for Falkirk & Forth Valley, and the company has been in the frame for proposed schemes that were floated by SESTRAN in their report on Go-eBike's first year - connecting Mussleburgh Station and Mussleburgh, and Dalkeith with Eskbank.
The Spanish EAPC RideOn is due to appear in Dundee very soon, and Nextbike EAPC's are also promised for some Glasgow sites.
The local saga of Serco's operation in Edinburgh is a separate thread.
Meanwhile despite the less convenient hire process, the Abellio Bike&Go service has turned the corner in Scotland, largely I suspect as a leisure hire option in places where other bike share schemes are not available.
Cardiff (Nextbike) is the best performing scheme in the UK, with every bike hired on average over 4 times per day. From some 24 years of tracking and advising on public bike hire, this is 'arrival' and when the average hits 8 hires per bike per day, the level of service is on its limit (lack of bike/space to return). As with Glasgow - large journey generators are signed up for block membership deals - cheaper to offer free membership of a bike scheme (& free/discount bus trips to/from site(s)) than build or lease car parking spaces. Nextbike also has special deals for those with transport poverty problems as in the discounted memberships in Glasgow, for those who cannot afford the 'transport' required to access work.
Note too that if you are a Co-Wheels member you can get a discounted membership for Nextbike. Please shout out for other offers!
Much to consider and perhaps use this thread to report confirmed launches across Scotland, membership deals, and branding deals (eg Just Eat - branding bike schemes in Edinburgh, Belfast, Dublin, and Reading, or VISA buying panels on the Glasgow bikes, which underwrites the operating costs) To look also at small 'campus' schemes (40-60 bikes - I have some typical costings) which have been set up for Warwick, Swansea, Brunel, Surrey (Guildford), and Kingston Universities, with Santander and Huawei branding on 3 of them.
Brompton hire is also a deal that can link to development of an office complex, with reduced car parking - the finest example being the AXA-Kings Cross site which is hiring out around 20 bikes from a unit which sits outside the building taking up just 1.6 square metres - a handy option for London trips. A unit costs around half the price of a 50-bike regular bike scheme, and if the levels of use meet expected targets, the hire income covers the running costs. The 'product' is not the same as the other offerings. Hire is for unlimited periods of 24 hours, and the hirer keeps the bike with them ALL THE TIME. For London trips, worth noting that a frequent user rate hire costs £3.50 for 24 hr vs £2 for a Santander that has to be docked every 29 minutes
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