E-bike hire scheme expands to cover more of city

Voi said the hire scheme was helping cut carbon emissions in the traffic-congested city

Plans have been made to increase the boundaries for where people can pick up an e-scooter or e-bike in a city.

The increase in the area covered in Cambridge will make it possible to travel along the Histon to Girton link and commute to Cambridge University's Laundry Farm on Barton Road.

About 200 new e-bikes which are lighter, lower, easier to get on and more manoeuvrable will also be trialled.

Dr Nik Johnson, Mayor of the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA), said he was pleased to see them being rolled out further so "more people can benefit".

Further expansion was expected to be rolled out in phases throughout 2025.

Since 2020, e-scooter and e-bike use in Cambridge helped avoid carbon emissions by 649 tonnes, equivalent to the weight of four blue whales.

The operators say the journeys made under its hire scheme would have created the the equivalent of 227 tonnes of CO2 if they had been made by other motorised vehicles.

Johnson said: "We are committed to providing residents with reliable and affordable public transport options and e-scooters and e-bikes are proving a convenient and enjoyable way to travel around the city."

James Bolton, Voi UK's general manager, said the scheme was one of the best-used in the UK.

"Since we launched in Cambridge back in 2020, we have received regular requests from residents - including those from nearby towns and villages - about boosting our fleet size and operating area," he said.

"We are pleased this expansion can now happen and look forward to working with CPCA and other local stakeholders to deliver safe, sustainable and affordable micro-mobility to more of Cambridgeshire."