How does Greater Manchester's new bike hire scheme compare to Mobike two months in?
manchestereveningnews.co.ukManchester's long-awaited bike hire scheme has now been running for more than two months and it's going...pretty well. There were, understandably, initial reservations from some quarters following the unceremonious departure of its forerunner Mobike in 2018 amid a storm of vandalism, theft and canal plunges.
But the first phase of the roll-out of Bee Network bikes on Oxford Road has largely been a success. Out of nearly 13,000 rides so far, only 88 bikes have had to be retrieved after going missing.
And zero have vanished never to be seen again. READ MORE: New 24/7 hire scheme offering electric bikes launches on Oxford Road This time around, the scheme, a key part of Greater Manchester's mission to boost public transport, tackle congestion, air pollution, and become carbon netural by 2038, has been led by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), with operator Beryl submitting the winning bid to run it.
There's a five-year budget of £16.96m, around £12m of which has come from the Mayor's Challenge Fund. Transport bosses credit their early success in part to the docking station model, a key difference when compared to Mobike.
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