Lincoln bike share scheme gearing up for re-launch

The bike hire scheme in Lincoln was first introduced in 2013

A bike share scheme in Lincoln is set to move up a gear, with councillors considering introducing e-bikes and flexible pick up and drop off points.

The county council's executive member for highways Richard Davies said technology had moved on since the hire scheme was first introduced in 2013.

"We are looking at having geo-fencing rather than base stations and rolling out more electric bikes," he said.

Mr Davies said they hoped to launch the new scheme in 2024.

In an interview with BBC Radio Lincolnshire, Mr Davies said: "Previously we had about 120 bikes - our ambition is absolutely to do more.

"They've been well used with thousands of journeys every year but... current technology is moving on," he said.

Mr Davies said the scheme had been well used, but the council's ambition was to do more

The authority was also looking to expand the scheme to surrounding villages and give people more flexibility over where they can pick up and drop off bikes - using geo-fencing technology, he added.

The council's contract with the operator of the original scheme ended last year, with a meeting of the authority's Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee being told the equipment was no longer fit for purpose or of any value, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service

The bikes have since been removed.

Mr Davies said the authority hoped to have the new scheme in place by the summer of 2024.

"We would have liked to have something in place a bit sooner, but the way the industry is moving it wouldn't make sense to rush into something," he said.

"We need to make sure the booking experience works really well -the operation of the bikes is really good, and that just does take little bit of time, unfortunately."