Mobikes for our borough - Sykes

INNOVATIVE bike sharing scheme . . . one of the Mobikes being used around Manchester

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A CAMPAIGN to bring an innovative bike sharing scheme to the borough has been launched by Oldham Liberal Democrat leader Howard Sykes.

Councillor Sykes, leader of the opposition on Oldham Council, has written to the owner of the Mobike scheme to request its extension to Oldham.

The scheme, which launched in June this year in Manchester and Salford, allows people to make short trips around the city on 1,000 dock-free hire bikes.

Councillor Sykes said: "Mobike is a bike-share scheme but it is different from the so-called Boris Bike scheme in London.

"With a Mobike, users create an online account and download a simple smartphone app to find and access a bike near to their location.

"They then ride the bike, and park and lock the bike at the end of their journey.

Safe

"However, unlike Boris Bikes there is no need to find a bicycle dock in which to place the bike; it can be parked and left in any public place that is safe and convenient."

Users of the service pay a one-off registration fee, and then a small fee every time they use a bike based on the duration of their journey.

They are incentivised to act responsibly and within the rules, and penalised if they do not.

Councillor Sykes believes that Mobikes are one part of a whole transport solution to make towns and cities greener and to reduce the number of short car journeys taken for work or personal business reducing traffic congestion.

He said: "Mobikes provide people with the option of taking a bike to a business meeting or to go to the library or attend a doctor's appointment, rather than taking out the car or waiting for a bus.

"And they mean that you do not need to own a bike to do so, thus avoiding the need to purchase, maintain or store your own bike."

Councillor Sykes has written to Mobike asking them to roll out the scheme to Oldham.

He added: "Oldham may have more hills than central Manchester, but I think there will still be a great deal of interest in this scheme from local people. I hope that Mobike will soon be up and running in our borough as a low-cost and green solution for short journeys for some people who cannot afford bus or taxi fares or run their own car."