Bike hire scheme has seen around 300,000 rentals with usage up significantly year on year, and those using the bikes have cycled a total of 1.4m – but 80% of the hires come from just 20% of the stations
Liverpool’s 33 most underused Citybike docking stations are being removed over the next few weeks in a cost-cutting drive.
The city council’s bike hire scheme has seen around 300,000 rentals to date, with usage up significantly year on year, and those using the bikes have cycled a total of 1.4m so far.
But the size and scale of the operation means that, in common with other bike hire schemes, it requires an annual subsidy to cover the costs of repairs and maintenance – and data shows that 80% of the hires come from just 20% of the docking stations.
A total of 33 stations which have less than 25 hires a month are being removed, following a decision in August to bring the scheme under council control from operator Hourbike and save £100,000 a year.
Cllr Steve Munby, Cabinet member for highways, said: “Citybike has been a huge success in terms of the number of people using the cycles.
“But there is a fine balance between making the scheme attractive and affordable to users, against the ongoing costs of maintenance of the bikes and the docking stations and that is why we have had to subsidise it.”
The docking stations being removed are:
- ASDA Hunts Cross
- Hillfoot Avenue, Hunts Cross
- Woodend Avenue, Hunts Cross
- Brownlow Hill
- Lime Street Station
- Renshaw Street
- Childwall Abbey Road
- Liverpool Hope Campus, Childwall
- Calderstones Park, Yewtree Rd
- Calderstones Park Cafe
- Tesco, Mather Avenue, Allerton
- Lifestyles Alsop, Walton
- Lifestyles Walton
- Lowestoft Drive, Cressington
- Everton Road Hostel
- Liverpool John Moores, Byrom Street, Everton
- Mere Lane Health Centre, Everton
- Gardner’s Drive, Kensington
- Kirkdale Railway Station
- Silvester Street, Kirkdale
- The Rotunda, Kirkdale
- Lifestyles Ellergreen, Norris Green
- Tesco, Old Swan
- Estuary Boulevard, Speke
- Estuary Business Park, Speke
- Speke Boulevard
- Speke Retail Park
- Speke Road, Garston
- Speke Road Matchworks
- Speke Road – New Mersey Shopping Park
- Lifestyles Peter Lloyd, Tuebrook
- Newsham Park, Gardner’s Drive
- Picton Clock, Wavertree