Oxonbike expands to include e-bike hire

Antonia Roberts: `Bikeplus is keen to know what contribution shared electric bikes can make to sustainable transport, and find out what sort of people are attracted to electric bikes in different contexts, and why.`

Antonia Roberts: `Bikeplus is keen to know what contribution shared electric bikes can make to sustainable transport, and find out what sort of people are attracted to electric bikes in different contexts, and why.`

Oxford’s bike share has added electric bikes to its fleet to become the first scheme in the UK to offer both push-bikes and e-bikes.

The Oxonbike scheme now offers 80 bikes, including 16 new electric bikes, at 13 docking stations across the city. New docking stations are being added to the network, connecting employment centres including hospital and university sites in Headington with the city centre and park & ride hubs, enabling business and commuter trips to be conveniently made by bike.

The scheme’s expansion is funded by a £34,000 grant from the Department for Transport through bike sharing organisation Bikeplus’s Shared Electric Bike Programme. The scheme has match funding of £30,000 from the University of Oxford the aim to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality through active travel.

Bikeplus manager Antonia Roberts says: "Bikeplus is keen to know what contribution shared electric bikes can make to sustainable transport, and find out what sort of people are attracted to electric bikes in different contexts, and why."

Sustainable transport manager at the University of Oxford, Adam Bows, says: "The addition of e-bikes to the Oxonbike fleet will take the pain out of cycling up Headington Hill and enable more University staff to travel quickly and sustainably between the Science Area, the OUH hospital sites in Oxford and Old Road Campus."

Oxonbike is a partnership between the operator Hourbike, the University of Oxford, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council.

Seven of the docking stations are equipped with electric docking points. E-bikes can be locked into any existing pedal docks but should ideally be re-docked after use at an electric point in order to recharge.

The scheme is one of 11 Shared Electric Bike Programme projects selected by Bikeplus to find out how electric bikes can have an impact on congestion, air quality and active travel, and funded by the Department of Transport.

The projects include Bristol, Exeter, Oxford, Rotherham, Isle of Wight, Hebden Bridge, Cambridge & Norwich, Eastbourne, Plymouth and New Forest National Park and Housing Associations in Southern England.

Bikeplus is the national representative body for bike share. It collects and shares research to inform good practice and collects data? to provide evidence of for the benefits of bike share schemes. It collects and shares information? on, including statistics on bike shares status in UK, good practice for setting up successful schemes plus developments overseas.

For more details of the scheme and how to use it visit www.oxonbikes.co.uk

Meet Antonia Roberts and the leading electric bike companies at Cycle City Active City.