‘Revolutionary’ bike hire scheme launched

Revolutionary’ new ebikes and escooters for hire in Birmingham have been given a seal of approval from cyclists keen to use the service.

Lime held a launch event at Aston University to introduce themselves to the city and announce 2,000 bikes and 500 scooters are now available for hire in Birmingham, Coventry and Solihull.

They have been available for a week and the company said they have received a positive response from the public. A roll out to the Black Country will follow on June 1.

Earlier this year, Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) selected the micromobility provider to take on the management of the scheme following a competitive bidding process.

The scheme will also operate at no cost to the taxpayer, bringing a saving of £1.4 million per year – the cost of running the cycle hire – to the authority.

Tom Newham, Lime Senior Manager of Public Affairs, said: “We very proud and excited to be launching our ebike and escooter service across the West Midlands.

“We’ve had an excellent response so far and people seem pleasantly surprised by our arrival. We’ve some absolutely fantastic social media content and viral Tiktoks for example.

“It seems to have gone down really well and we’re excited to see it grow now.

“We expect the scheme to develop really strongly over the coming years and will be bringing the best technology and vehicles we have over the next five years so we’re here to stay.

“We know what a difference these vehicles can make to people’s lives so it’s our job to make sure if you want to use one, it’s there for you, it’s ready, it’s accessible and you can afford it.

“One of the reasons why every part of this region offers great opportunity for us is there are a lot of students, commuters, tourists and all of those groups will get great use out of the vehicles.”

Birmingham comedy duo and social media stars JV and Biggs attended the launch and enjoyed a quick test of the bikes.

JV said: “It’s revolutionary. Now people can get around faster, keeping fit and saving more money. It’s fun – that’s the most important thing. It’s making convenience fun.

“With this you can get places easier, keep fit and save more money using other transport.

Biggs added: “Especially in a crowded and congested area such as the city centre.

“For you to get from here to the city centre will take a 10-15 minute walk maybe but if you’re on the bike you’re cutting time.

“I would recommend it. It’s affordable and electric assisted so you don’t have to use too much energy.

JV said he was no really a keen cyclist but said he would definitely be using more of these in the future.

Biggs said: “I like the bikes. I like the feel and these are brand new so you can’t have anything to complain about.

“They are fresh, keep them in good condition, don’t mistreat them and then they will serve people well.”

Clare Noakes, executive assistant to the Vice Chancellor and Head of exec support, is a keen cyclist.

She said: “As far as commuting is concerned, I find it’s the easiest and quickest way to get me from my home in South Birmingham into town.

“There are no delays, there is the fitness side to it and it gives me half an hour’s head space in the mornings and afternoons just to take stock, regroup, get from home to work brain as it were.

“Cycling around Birmingham is fairly straight forward. There are lots of decent cycle paths and not withstanding the craziness of the Birmingham drivers, it’s not too bad.

“I think (the scheme) is a great idea. If it’s getting people off the roads in vehicles and moving around more easier is a great idea.

“It encourages physical activity on bikes, on scooters and makes Birmingham an easier place to get around.

“There’s more opportunities for people to literally pick up a bike, get to where they need to and leave it. I hope students will take advantage.”

Rafiul Ifti, who is studying computer science  for a bachelor degree also gave the bikes a try and said: “It was wonderful.

“I rode around the whole campus and it was wonderful feeling with the speed, control and everything.

“It’s my first experience riding with a Lime bike and it was wonderful. I will encourage others to ride the bikes.”