Oxford's bike hire scheme back six months after it folded

Hourbike will run the OxonBike scheme for a year

A bike hire scheme has been relaunched in Oxford six months after it folded.

Oxfordshire County Council has joined forces with new operator HourBike Ltd to bring back the OxonBike scheme, which has 30 cycles available to hire from seven locations around Headington.

The £150,000 project was originally launched in June last year, but the two-year pilot was cut short five months later when operator Grand Scheme Bike Share went into liquidation.

Hourbike will run it for a year.

David Nimmo Smith, the county's cabinet member for transport, said: "When the scheme launched last year around 500 people signed up, so I am sure that those people will be very keen to get back in the saddle.

"Commuters who use Thornhill Park and Ride and who travel in and around Headington to places like the universities and hospitals will find OXONBIKE particularly useful."

The cost of hiring the bikes is free for the first 30 minutes.

The scheme has been funded by the government through its Local Sustainable Transport Fund.