Shared bike scheme set to expand in Brighton

Brighton & Hove City Council has announced that the city’s shared bikes scheme is set to expand, with 120 new bikes and more hubs installed in the west of the city.

BTN BikeShare, operated by Hourbike, began in September last year with 450 bikes available across 51 hubs. New hubs will now be created with further sites planned laster this year. Since its creation, more than 35,000 subscribers have signed up to the scheme, with 213,000 rentals recorded to the end of May. Together the bike share cyclists have ridden more than 400,000 miles around the city.

Both the University of Brighton and the University of Sussex have made financial contributions that will see more bikes and hubs on university campuses, while bikes will also be funded from money that is still available from the initial start-up costs.

Gill Mitchell, chair of the city’s Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee, said: “Bike share is proving more and more popular as a way of getting from A to B quickly and easily. Residents living in the west of the city have been asking the council when they will get hubs in their area, so we’re delighted to be able to expand the scheme and encourage even more people to cycle for their journeys around the city.”