Citybike success

Liverpool’s new cycle hire scheme, citybike, is celebrating after hitting almost 9,000 hires in just three months.

Since it was officially launched on May 7 by Olympic cycling gold medallist, Chris Boardman, the scheme has proven to be hugely popular.

Now, as the 50th station is installed outside Liverpool City Council’s Municipal Buildings on Dale Street, and with 300 cycles available, citybike has been hailed a major success so far.

citybike_50th station launch_August 5 2014Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, said: “I know a lot of people use citybike to get to work, go to the shops or for the simple pleasure of cycling often in our great parks. The 50th station is a milestone and I look forward to the city having many more stations.”

Latest figures show more than 8,600 citybike hires, with more than 3,500 one-day memberships taken.

New stations have been going in every week since June and are planned to continue into autumn. Recent successful additions have included Sefton Park, Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral and Otterspool Park.

Tim Caswell, from citybike operators Hourbike, said: “We have been delighted with how the scheme has gone in Liverpool so far. There is definitely a lot of interest and the statistics that we are seeing shows that people are really enjoying citybike. We’ve seen a lot of journeys to and from work places, particularly in the Baltic Triangle and Liverpool One areas.

“Citybike has also proven to be really popular for days out and tourists, with people from different countries hiring bikes to see the Liverpool sights and recently using citybike to get around the city centre and wider area during the Giants Spectacular.”

Councillor Malcolm Kennedy, Cabinet member for regeneration and transport, added: “It’s really great news that citybike is proving so popular with residents and visitors alike. It’s an easy and hassle free way to get from a-to-b in Liverpool and it can only continue to go from strength to strength as we expand the network across the city.”

Joining citybike costs from just £3 for a day membership which includes two hours cycling credit or £9 weekly which includes four hours cycling credit. Extra time for longer trips can be topped up at £1 per hour. The best deal for regular users is to buy an annual membership for just £60 and enjoy half an hour’s cycling as many times as you want for free – that’s just over £1 per week to cover all your local trips around the city. Five hours additional cycling credit is also included to cover longer journeys and extra top-ups can be added anytime. Getting started is as easy as 1-2-3 – register at http://www.citybikeliverpool.co.uk/ or call 0151 374 2034, choose a membership option and a top-up if you think you’ll need your citybike for more than the included time in your chosen member option; enter your code on the key pad, and get there by #citybike

The scheme is managed by Hourbike, which has similar projects in Dumfries, Reading, Nottingham, Oxford and Southport, and is commissioned by Liverpool City Council using £1.5 million from Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF), allocated by the Department for Transport (DfT).

Follow @citybikelpl on Twitter to keep up to date with the latest news and station details.

Caption: Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson celebrating the launch of citybike’s 50th station, with Stuart Dyer from Hourbike, operators of citybike (left) and Daniel Robinson from Peleton.

Liverpool Waterfront