Blackpool Phase 1 Live

Posted: October 21, 2009

Bicycle hubs have started to pop up along South Promenade and Stanley park as Blackpool launches the first part of its network of Hire-A-Bike.

As part of its commitment to being a cycle town Blackpool Council has become one of the first towns in the country to initiate the roll out of the bikes for the public to hire to get around the town. They can be hired from automated 'Hubs' which will eventually be placed all in key areas of the resort. The first set of nine hubs will be open from this weekend along the South Promenade between the Solaris Centre and the Sandcastle and also at Stanley Park and Blackpool Zoo - making up to fifty bikes available over the summer.

All people need to do, to hire a bike, is call a number, pay for their bike hire of £8 per day, input the code they are given into the keypad of one of the 'Hubs' and away they go. The prices are reduced for families depending on the number of bikes they need. Three bikes will cost just £20 to hire with children's sizes available too.

Councillor Maxine Callow, Cabinet Member for Tourism and Regeneration, said: "Cycling is a great way to get around and with our dedication to cycling initiatives this is truly a massive step forward. When this scheme is fully up and running there is no reason why people will not be able to jump on a bike from wherever they are in the town. We hope eventually to have over 100 'hubs' filled with bikes. I hope people will take the opportunity to make use of this clean, easy and importantly cheap method of getting around the town."

The plan is to increase the size of the Hire a Bike network to cover more of the town with the scheme officially launched in 2010.

It is hoped that residents will be able to benefit further through a membership scheme where a top-up-card can be purchased and bikes are then hired for just £1 per hour with the first 30 minutes free. Their membership will also allow them to hire bikes when visiting other towns.

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