Northampton's cycle hire scheme ends due to vandalism

Northampton's cycle hire scheme launched in 2014 with £150,000 from the county council

A bike hire scheme is to close due to an "increase in vandalism" and a lack of funding.

The county council put £150,000 into the Cycle CoNNect scheme in Northampton when it started in 2014.

But the operator Hourbike said a loss of "operational funding since 2017" and "increased costs" meant it was now "unsustainable".

Councillor Jason Smithers said: "Many schemes in the UK have stopped - this is not unique to Northampton."

A similar scheme, also run by Hourbike, in Reading closed earlier this year, while their operation in Oxford shut in 2018.

Another scheme, run by train operator Abellio, closed last month in Scotland, Merseyside and East Anglia.

The electric bike scheme in Derby was scrapped in July after a surge of vandalism.

The scheme launched with 50 bikes at 10 docking stations

Mr Smithers said "it was always the intention that the scheme paid for itself from 2017" and "at that time subscription rates were rising steadily".

"There have been many influences that have affected the scheme being able to pay for itself including vandalism and developments in the bike hire market as a whole," he added.

When it started, there were 50 cycles available at racks across Northampton costing £1 an hour to hire.

Originally there were 10 docking station, which increased to 15, including the railway station and the university's new Waterside Campus.

The council said the infrastructure was being kept in place "while options are explored to see if a similar scheme can be operated in the future".

The county council said the docks would stay in place for a potential scheme in the future