Hi-Bike’s e-bike scheme in Inverness has been suspended after “an obscene amount of vandalism”. The service said all but about six to eight bikes out of 50 have been damaged.
Writing earlier this week on social media, the share scheme said the vandalism has caused approximately £100,000 of damage to its bikes in Inverness. The Fort William system is still open.
According to the BBC, the Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership (Hitrans), which set up the scheme in 2021, said there had been a "huge surge" in vandalism since the Easter holidays, as well as incidents involving young people sitting in the bikes’ front baskets.
Some bikes have been crashed and broken, while others were thrown into rivers and the Caledonian Canal. Bikes in Inverness have also been damaged by people reportedly attempting to "wrench them" out of charging stations.
A notice on Hi-Bike's website reads: “Unfortunately due to the obscene amount of vandalism of the Inverness branch of the Hi-Bike scheme over the last 5 days, we have had to temporarily close the system.
“We are extremely sorry for any inconvenience caused to the legitimate users, but all but approximately 6-8 bikes out of 50 have been damaged. The Fort William Hi-Bike system remains open.”
The full Facebook post said: “We have spoken to Police Scotland again today to provide information regarding the acts of vandalism that have caused damage of approximately £100,000 to the Hi-Bikes in Inverness. CCTV footage is available at the charging docks, and we hope this will allow the Police to identify those responsible.
“We are sharing evidence with Police Scotland and the British Transport Police. If anyone has any information they want to discreetly share about the vandalism please direct message us or email info@hi-bike.co.uk.
“We hope to have the Hi-Bike scheme operational again as soon as the bikes and docks are repaired and we can have confidence that this valuable asset will be allowed to operate safely as it has done in Inverness since October 2021. We apologise to all our members whose access to the system has been disrupted by those who cannot abide by the law.”
This isn't the first e-bike or e-scooter scheme to have been affected by vandalism. Sunderland’s e-scooter scheme came to an end in May last year just months after it began, with operator Zwings saying it was “unable to bear the costs of vandalism”.
Voi also paused its Peterborough e-bike share scheme due to persistent vandalism in 2021. The operator did restore the service a few months later, but permanently removed the bikes in January last year.
