DUDLEY will get its own version of London’s popular ‘Boris bikes’ next year.
The first batch of rental bikes will be hitting the streets in September this year, when 2,000 are installed across Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton. A further 3,000 bikes will be rolled out in Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall in 2019.
Transport for West Midlands, part of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), has picked nextbike to run bike-share, which will be the UK’s largest docked bike-share scheme outside London.
The initiative will be similar to the capital's Boris Bikes scheme - named after the city's former mayor Boris Johnson - and will see docking stations located around key sites in the towns and cities involved, with bikes available 24 hours a day.
Annual membership to the scheme will cost £30 per year, meaning riders can access the bikes for as little as 8p per day.
Swift card members will be able to access the bikes as part of their regular subscription and payments will be fully integrated.
The landmark scheme will also bring 50 jobs to the region, with posts including area managers, van drivers and mechanics up for grabs.
West Midlands Mayor, Andy Street, said: “Cycling has an important role to play in tackling issues such as congestion, air pollution and health so I am really pleased we’ve reached the stage of announcing who will run the scheme in the West Midlands from September."
Councillor Roger Lawrence, leader of Wolverhampton City Council and WMCA portfolio holder for transport, said: “Cities and towns right across Europe have schemes such as this as a way to cut congestion and drive up participation in cycling.
“It’s high time we had a similar thing in the West Midlands."
Julian Scriven, nextbike's managing director for the UK, added: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be bringing nextbikes to the people of the West Midlands.
“We are able to offer the most technologically-advanced and forward-thinking bike-share scheme and fleet in the UK.
“The interconnectivity it will offer is going to be brilliant, it will really help to make journeys across the Midlands seamless."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here