Boris-bike scheme could be heading to Wolverhampton

German company Nextbike has revealed the city is among its next prime locations to set up its bike sharing scheme and could be brought into the city by Autumn.

The cycles got the nickname ‘Boris-bikes’ after being introduced in London during the Foreign Secretary’s time as mayor.

Up to 750 bikes could be available for anyone in the city, which would mean up to 75 bike terminals across Wolverhampton.

The system works by bikers using either a smartphone app or by calling a hotline number, collecting the bikes from terminals – once registered, people can use the bikes in all Nextbike cities and countries.

For other UK Nextbike cities, users can sign up to either an annual subscription tariff option or a casual fare option.

The annual subscription is designed for regular use and costs £60 annually with the first 30 minutes of every ride free and then an extra 50p for every additional 30 minutes – the maximum amount being £5.00 in a 24-hour period.

The regular fare option costs £10 for starting credit with each rental costing £1.00 per 30 minutes up to a maximum of £10 in any 24 hour period.

The bikes, which are worth around £1,000, have integrated locks, GPS on board and a number of anti-theft measures integrated.

If brought in, it could ease congestion and improve health and mobility in the city.

The public bike rental scheme, which already operates in 120 locations across the world, could see hundreds of bikes available in the city 24/7, with starting costs from £1 per hour.

Nextbike Managing Director, Julian Scriven, originally from Bewdley, said Wolverhampton was an ideal place to bring in the bikes.

He added: “I’m from the Kidderminster area and we’re aware of the potential in the West Midlands. Wolverhampton is one of the top areas for local transport use, with 10 per cent of people using it and 13 per cent of people already walk or cycle to work.

“The council is forward-looking and should we get support from the them, phase one could be in place by Autumn. Support from councils is the deciding factor of where to roll it out next.

“For an area like Wolverhampton, I’d imagine between 350 to 750 bikes would work, with a ratio of one terminal for every 10 bikes.

“In an ideal world, we’d have the scheme in Birmingham too, so people commuting from either city can get on a bike to the metro and leave the bike at a stop when they get off.

“It’s a very exciting time with the Transport for West Midlands in place and Wolverhampton appears very interested.

"The stereotype of cyclists being ‘middle aged men in Lycra’ is an outdated one, and we know this because 45 per cent of our users are female – and virtually none wear Lycra.

"Bike-sharing schemes create safer environments for cyclists as drivers are more conscious on the road.”