Lucy AshtonSouth Yorkshire political reporter
PA Media
Sheffield is hoping to follow other cities by launching an e-bike hire scheme
Almost 1,000 e-bikes are to be made available for hire in Sheffield in a move councillors hope will encourage more people to cycle in the city despite its many hills.
Sheffield City Council is looking for a private operator to deliver the scheme, with the aim of having around 950 e-bikes available from 320 locations by next Summer.
In a report the authority said it had “learned lessons” from the failed Ofo yellow bike scheme in 2018, when many bikes were vandalised and dumped.
The council said it planned to invest £2m to get the latest project started, including creating 240 bike parking bays, some of which will be in existing car parking spaces.
A report by council officers said: “Sheffield faces a number of transport challenges with high car use and congestion, particularly in the city centre, leading to increased emissions.
“There is poor access to cycling, especially in underserved communities.
“Looking ahead, significant housing developments are planned for in and around the city centre, where cycling could be a realistic alternative for many journeys.
“However, it is recognised that the city’s hilly terrain can be a barrier to cycling to many, to which the availability of e-bikes can provide an effective solution.
“The development of a successful e-bike hire scheme has the potential to reduce congestion and pollution and improve public transport connectivity.”
Ofo
Sheffield previously tried the yellow Ofo bikes which were not a success
In 2018 the council introduced 500 Ofo bikes around the city, but there was widespread vandalism and misuse on a far higher scale than in other cities with the same scheme.
The company pulled out of Sheffield and other UK cities the same year amidst financial problems.
The council, however, said it believed the new scheme would be different, saying the Ofo service was launched “too widely and too quickly”.
According to the report, the new system would have “more control over where bikes are parked, to help reduce street clutter and antisocial behaviour”.
It said this would mean the was an “incentive to leave the bike at the end of the hire period in in specific physical locations otherwise the cost of the hire will continue to increase”.
The document also said the bikes would have multiple locking systems and GPS technology allowing the operator to manage bike numbers in any one area and recover any abandoned bikes quickly.
It added that the provider would own the bikes and be responsible for all maintenance and upkeep.
The council said it was hoped an initial “launch zone” would be operational in August 2026.
