Get on your e-bike: Will rental scheme get city moving?

A new e-bike hire scheme in Bradford has so far received mixed responses from residents after docking stations were recently unveiled in locations across the city. Some people have welcomed the scheme, which got under way last week, saying it could reduce pollution and encourage them to get more exercise, but others say the cost - and the city's hills - would still put them off using the bikes.

The scheme - sponsored by train operator LNER - is operated by Beryl, which has run a similar project in Leeds since 2023 and in Manchester since 2021.

In Bradford, cyclists can currently pick up a bike from 26 locations, including Norfolk Gardens, Forster Square Retail Park, Bradford Royal Infirmary, Lister Park, Shipley town centre and Saltaire.

Organisers hope that eventually about 200 e-bikes will be available for hire from a total of 41 docking bays.

Once picked up from a dock, a £1 charge releases the bike which is then charged by the minute - or users can pay a regular amount for a set number of minutes per month.

Once their journey is complete, the user is expected to return the bike to one of the docks.

David Robison, director of Bradford's Capital of Cycling charity, says he tested one of the bikes at a recent launch event in the city and praises them for being "simple and robust".

"Anybody who had even just done pretty basic bike riding would be able to pick one up and just start peddling," he says.

Capital of Cycling encourages people to ride for mental and physical well-being and teaches skills and training in bike maintenance.

With that in mind, Robison says he can only welcome the new e-bike hire scheme for Bradford.

"There are a lot of reasons why people would benefit from more physical activity in the ways they get around - and the people around them benefit from reduced congestion and traffic pollution," he explains.

"It's part of the jigsaw of how you make a successful city."

Robison admits that cycling in Bradford can be risky, but believes it has improved since work was done to install more cycle lanes and pedestrianise much of the city centre.

"There's a lot of negativity around cycling schemes that you see in the comments on social media sometimes, but it's largely not evidence-based," he says.

"If you include things like the effect of air pollution from vehicles, don't even start on climate change, then the reasons to get cycling and to support schemes like this are just a no-brainer. Bradford needs this kind of thing."

However, Robison admits the price of hiring a bike from one of the docks dotted around the district may put off some people - with rides costing 17p a minute on the pay-as-you-go rate.

"It is a barrier having to install an app, and having to pay is obviously a hurdle that people have to get over," he says.

"Then then they've got to dock the bike back somewhere where the journey is counted as over."

Outside the Broadway shopping centre, Kanwal Hussain says she would be unlikely to use the scheme.

She says that she rarely comes into the city centre and there are no docks where she lives in Wibsey.

"I actually have moved from Holland, so I used to cycle over there, but here it's hard with the hills," she says.

"I do love cycling, I do miss cycling, but I don't come much to the city centre."

Meanwhile, at Bradford Interchange John Stathers says he would be unlikely to pay to take part in the e-bike scheme.

"In London, it's a lot more viable because it's a lot flatter," he says.

"Bradford city centre is small anyway, so you can just walk."

Just a few miles away in Leeds, there are currently 79 bike docks and 530 bikes for hire from Roundhay to Holbeck and in the city centre.

Outside Trinity Leeds shopping centre, Philip Barrett says he prefers a traditional bike to the electric variety, despite the city's hills.

"I commute to work on a bicycle so I never use the e-bikes. I commute from Armley to Seacroft, which is 10 miles," he says.

"I've never really been drawn in with electric bikes, but they do serve a purpose and it is good to get people on the road with them.

"For fitness reasons, I prefer using a standard bikes. I'm too set in my ways for electric bikes."

At the Bradford scheme's launch last week, Councillor Sarah Ferriby, executive for healthy people and places, said she hoped the scheme would help reduce air pollution.

"It is great for people coming into Bradford by train or bus. People can hop on a bike to continue their journey," she said.

"We're seeing a lot more cyclists in the city and there is more infrastructure for cyclists."

Meanwhile, Philip Ellis, CEO of Beryl, said in Leeds and Manchester a lot of students now used the bikes, as well as tourists.

"We find there are two main groups of people who use them," he explained.

"You have cyclists who may not have their bike when they go to the office or go to play football and decide to rent these.

"And surveys we've done show there are a lot of lapsed cyclists who haven't cycled for five years or more," he said.

However, Ellis admitted the scheme in Bradford could take a while to properly take off.

"It often takes a bit of time to get established, but we've launched at the right time of year as the weather starts to improve."

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