Five Nextbike stations open up as town joins the ‘bike-sharing revolution’
PENARTH has become home to the first public e-bikes scheme in Wales, offering 50 cycles to get people around the town.
Nextbike UK announced it had expanded to Penarth after Vale of Glamorgan Council received numerous requests from the public.
The e-bikes are conventional bikes but they have electric motors to reduce effort when pedalling.
The stations, at Penarth Train Station, Llandough Hospital, Esplanade, Windsor Road and the Barrage, opened on November 12.
An e-bike will cost £1 per 30 minutes for Nextbike members or £2 per 20 minutes on each ride for non-members.
This scheme was helped with funding from the Vale council, making it the first public e-bike share scheme in Wales.
“As the first of its kind in the country, these bikes are not only important to the people of Penarth, they’re also significant to leading the bike share revolution across the whole of Wales,” said Nextbike UK managing director, Krysia Solheim.
“I welcome anything that allows people to get across Penarth in a carbon neutral way,” said Rhiannon Birch, councillor for Penarth and deputy mayor of the Vale of Glamorgan council.
Currently, the Penarth Nextbikes can only be rented and returned to Penarth stations.
“The ambition is to eventually link the scheme to Nextbike’s Cardiff fleet, meaning commuters will be able to use the e-bikes to make the journey between the town and the city with ease,” said a Nextbike spokesperson.
“It’s hoped that once people start using the Penarth fleet, it will help to reduce congestion and CO2 levels, while also bringing public health benefits to its users.”
