Scots offered free use of bikes in green transport scheme

Published Date: 14 August 2008
By ALASTAIR DALTON

PARIS-STYLE self-service cycle hire points are to be launched in Dundee and Dumfries as part of a new Scottish Government green transport drive.
The networks of pick-up, drop-off stands will offer free cycle use for the first half hour.Dundee City Council, which has been awarded funding for one of the schemes, said the move followed successful projects in Paris, London, Barcelona and Stockholm. Users are able to pick up a bike at one "interchange" and drop it off at another.Other projects sharing the £15 million combined government and local authority funding include drivers in Dundee being offered one month's free bus travel to encourage them to switch from their cars.Stewart Stevenson, the transport minister, said: "The proposals from Dundee have been impressive, in particular the plans to create a bike rental scheme which will allow people to pick up a bike at a rail or bus station, use it for free for half an hour, and then pay a rental fee at an hourly rate."This initiative could also be used as a template for other local authorities to follow, showcasing the very best examples of sustainable travel initiatives from across Scotland, resulting in a catalyst for change throughout the country. "We need to look at ways of persuading people out of their cars and on to more sustainable forms of travel such as trains, buses, walking and cycling."Other projects to be funded are in Glasgow's east end, Barrhead, Kirkwall, Kirkintilloch and Lenzie, and Larbert and Stenhousemuir.They include no-car zones, improved walking and cycling routes, and "park and choose" sites where drivers can switch to public transport or car-sharing.However, a cycling scheme in Edinburgh was among unsuccessful applications.The awards follow the success of projects in three English "sustainable travel demonstration" towns – Darlington, Peterborough and Worcester – in increasing public transport use, cycling and walking.