Derby’s e-bikes rental scheme, ‘ebikes Derby’ launched in June this year, has proven a big hit with residents and workers in the city with 16,000 trips made since its launch.

It seems the city of Derby has taken e-bikes to its heart, with 53,000 miles of travelling racked up on the bikes, with journeys of up to 18 miles having been seen. More than that, the scheme is now exploring options for additional docking stations to add to the existing 30 to cater for the high demand on the bikes.

For example, the scheme says that on its busiest single day, all available e-bikes were rented three times each. 

The ease with which e-bikes can be rented may also be a factor, with renters able to sign up to the scheme using the Social Bicycles app or online. The user’s phone number and PIN is then entered into a screen on the e-bike, which hires the bike at a maximum daily charge of £12. Then, the bike is simply returned to a physical dock, a ‘geofenced’ virtual dock or pre-existing secure bike storage.

Certainly it’s a nifty-sounding system, and with the planned expansion and announcement of Derby Bikes coming on as sponsor for the first 20 bikes, there seems to be real momentum behind the scheme.

“We are thrilled to have Cycle Derby on board and there are still plenty of opportunities for more sponsors to get involved,” says Tim Caswell, owner and managing director of Hourbike, the operators of the scheme.

“We have had lots of requests for more docking station locations and we will be investigating those alongside geo-fenced docks which are shown on the map on our app but are not physically on the ground.”

Have you tried the ebikes Derby scheme? Tell us your experiences in the comments.