Leeds e-bike rentals beating expectations, says city council

Leeds City Council said each electric bike was averaging almost three trips a day

An electric bike rental scheme launched in Leeds a month ago has been hailed as a success by the council.

Leeds City Bikes can be hired from docking stations in the city centre, along with further bays in Holbeck, Hyde Park, Woodhouse and Headingley.

Manufacturers Beryl said there were 200 currently available, with the number set to rise to 650 in spring.

Leeds City Council said each bike was averaging almost three trips a day, exceeding the team's expectations.

The local authority confirmed some bikes had been vandalised or stolen over the last four weeks, but did not provide statistics when asked by BBC Yorkshire.

The pay-as-you-ride costs are £1 to unlock the bike then 16p a minute, with other longer-term passes available.

Leeds City Bikes figures since 15 September launch

• The scheme has seen 3,276 users of the service

• Each bike has averaged almost three journeys a day

• The total distance covered was about 4,970 miles (8,000km)

• The most popular day to use a Leeds City Bike was on a Saturday

• The busiest bays were Woodhouse Moor North in Hyde Park and Shire Oak Road in Headingley

Source: Leeds City Council

Leeds City Council said its high usage in the Hyde Park and Headingley areas suggested students were using the scheme as a "quick way to get to university and back".

Councillor Helen Hayden, executive member for infrastructure and climate, said the costs of hire were cheaper than getting a taxi or driving.

"If you are getting on a bus you're travelling in a sustainable way and taking congestion off the roads," she said.

"If you're waiting for a bus and maybe the bus isn't the time you want or going to the place you want, these are another alternative."

Leeds City Bikes are rented through an app, with pay-as-you-ride costs charged at £1 to unlock the bike then 16p a minute to ride

Discussing anti-social behaviour, Beryl co-founder Philip Ellis said: "Whenever something like this gets put into the public realm we always expect a bit of vandalism, a bit of damage and losing a few bikes.

"That indeed has been the case in Leeds, but we've worked with the team on the ground recovering bikes, West Yorkshire Police has been getting involved as well to try to track down bikes."

He said the usage figures in Leeds were encouraging, adding: "The plan has always been to have a relatively tight city centre scheme over this first winter.

"We're then going to roll it out a bit further into the suburbs and crucially increasing the number of bikes - getting up to 650 in the spring."