Cyclists can get back on their OXONBIKE from 19 June

From 19 June 30 cycles will be available to hire from seven locations around Headington, with many journeys being free. Users will be able to register for £1 from 19 June at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/oxonbike and start using the bikes.

The scheme links Thornhill Park and Ride with major employers in the Headington area and aims to reduce the number of short car journeys between hospital sites and university campuses.

Oxfordshire County Council has joined forces with HourBike Ltd, a company with a track record of running high-profile schemes across the UK, to re-launch the popular service which was put on hold when the previous operator went out of business last year.

HourBike has committed to run the pilot scheme for a full 12 months.

Bikes can be picked up and returned to:

•           Thornhill Park and Ride

•           The John Radcliffe Hospital

•           London Road

•           University of Oxford Old Road campus

•           Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre

•           Churchill Hospital.

•           Plus Oxford Brookes' Gypsy Lane site to follow in the next two weeks

County Councillor David Nimmo Smith, Cabinet member for transport, said: “I am delighted that OXONBIKE will be on the road once more.

“When the scheme launched last year around 500 people signed up, so I am sure that those people will be very keen to get back in the saddle.

“Commuters who use Thornhill Park and Ride and who travel in and around Headington to places like the universities and hospitals will find OXONBIKE particularly useful.

“There are many reasons to consider signing up to OXONBIKE, particularly as the cost of hiring bikes will remain the same with the first 30 minutes being free. For many people the free period is all they need in order to be able to get where they are going.”

As well as the hire charges, including the free period, remaining the hire sites will also be in the same places. Users may notice that the technology used to hire the bikes will alter to the more familiar keypads seen in places like Reading and Blackpool.

Good time to cycle

Tim Caswell, CEO of HourBike, said: “I am delighted that we have been given the opportunity to get involved in Oxford and help give commuters in the Headington area another way to get around.

“June is a good time to start cycling as the weather is in your favour and I look forward to welcoming back OXONBIKE users old and new.”

The scheme is a pilot and has been funded by the government through the Government’s Local Sustainable Transport Fund."

Charges

•           Registration = £1

•           Up to 30 mins = Free

•           0.5 to 1 hour = £1

•           1 to 2 hours = £2.50

•           2 to 3 hours = £7.50

•           3 to 6 hours = £15

•           6 to 24 hours = £30

Alongside the hire scheme, the council has already upgraded the footpath to a shared use facility between the Park and Ride site and The Larches on the south side of the A40. A new location at the Park and Ride site for hire and privately-owned cycles, and a new entrance/exit for cyclists has already been put in place.

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