Portsmouth seeks cash for cycle hire scheme plans

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There must be something about coastal towns and cycle hire schemes. Blackpool already has a council funded cycle hire system in place, while Brighton & Hove is mulling a scheme. Well it now appears that Portsmouth, another coastal city, is keen to get in on the act.

Portsmouth City Council has proposed a cycle hire scheme as part of a £5m bid to gain funding from the Department of Transport’s new Local Sustainable Transport Fund.

Targeting commuters

The cycle scheme would serve the city’s five rail stations with the idea being that people commuting to work in Portsmouth will come in by train and then use the bikes to ride to work and then ride back to the station after work.

Council leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson told the Portsmouth News newspaper that the cycle hire idea was at a very early stage of planning, but it was “a serious bid” with the council very keen to encourage people to use cars less.

“Our idea is for a cycle hire scheme aimed mainly at commuters. Instead of driving, people could use the train and pick up a bike for the last bit of their journey to work.

“They’d drop it off at work and pick one up again when they left. It could also link up with our park and ride scheme.”

Docking stations would be installed at the train stations and in other strategic locations where there is a cluster of workplaces.

Other proposals

The cycle hire scheme is among one of the proposals being put together by Portsmouth Council to gain funding from the Sustainable Transport Fund. Other proposals include better facilities for cyclists and pedestrians, measures to help buses run on time, and help for companies who want employees to drive less.

See Also:

Reading Council gives go-ahead to cycle hire scheme
Hire bike scheme for Brighton in the offing

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