Troubled Dumfries bike hire scheme suspended

Rental cycles have been withdrawn from stances across Dumfries, including at the Whitesands

A troubled bike hire scheme in Dumfries has been suspended until next spring, BBC Scotland has learned.

Almost every cycle which has been part of the Bike2Go project has been removed for "maintenance and overhaul".

Dumfries and Galloway Council said the bikes will be returned when the scheme is relaunched in conjunction with a similar project run by ScotRail.

The £155,000 scheme began in 2010, to encourage people get out of their cars, but it has suffered from low uptake.

It has provided bikes free of charge to subscribers at 11 locations across the town.

However three years after it launched, it emerged that the town's 42 bikes had been hired 2,270 times - a daily average of about two rentals.

It worked out at more than £60 per rental.

There are no bicycles available at the stance at Dumfries Railway Station

Stances at locations including Dumfries Railway Station, the Crichton campus and Heathhall are now standing empty.

A survey by BBC Scotland found just one cycle - at the King George V playing fields.

Sally Hinchcliffe, of Cycling Dumfries, called on the local authority to consult with local groups before relaunching the scheme.

The cycling campaigner said: "It's a shame that the bikes weren't more successful, but the few times we have used them in the past we found the rental system very clunky to use and sometimes it just wouldn't work at all, although most people who actually managed to rent one of the bikes enjoyed riding them.

"We hope that the relaunch will include discussions with local groups about how to make the most of the bikes - perhaps an on-street rental scheme isn't the best use for them.

"For instance, they could be integrated into Abellio's Scotland-wide bike hire scheme based at the station, or be made available to community groups for bike rides or loan bikes."

A BBC survey of Bike2Go stances in Dumfries found just one bicycle in the town

One subscriber to the scheme, Chris Henry, told the BBC he had hoped to use a cycle to travel from the Crichton to the railway station.

When he contacted the operator, Hourbike, he was told he could pick up a bike from Cargen Towers - a council building on the opposite side of Dumfries.

Mr Henry said: "I hadn't realised the significance of the name 'hourbike' is that you must walk for an hour, passing at least five empty bike stations, to locate a bike."

A spokeswoman for Dumfries and Galloway Council said there is usually very low usage of the bikes over the winter months.

She added: "We are looking to relaunch the Bike 2 Go scheme in the spring, in conjunction with ScotRail's launch of their national 'Bike and Go' hire scheme at Dumfries Station.

"We are working with ScotRail to source local maintenance and support for both schemes for the future, and it is therefore appropriate to postpone return of the bikes to their stances until the spring of 2016."