West Midlands Cycle hire users clock up enough miles to go twice around the world during Birmingham 2022

 Adam Tranter, West Midlands Cycling and Walking Commissioner, West Midlands Mayor Andy Street, Cllr Liz Clements, Birmingham City Council cabinet member for transport and Graham Jones, Transport for West Midlands Commonwealth Games technical director with the cycle hire bikes

Midlands: The offer of free cycle hire during the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games has proved a huge success with thousands of riders covering an astonishing 49,000 miles in just 12 days.

That’s only a thousand miles short of travelling twice around the world, reflecting the huge appetite for West Midlands Cycle Hire while the region enjoyed the international festival of sport. Together, riders clocked up a total of 12,000 hours of cycling.

Anyone signing up to the cycle hire app was offered two, free 30-minute rides per day during Birmingham 2022, covering both the regular pedal cycles and the electric eBikes. The offer was part of Transport for West Midlands’ (TfWM) wide-ranging plan to keep the region moving during the Games.

Thousands embraced the opportunity with 28,191 journeys recorded during the Games with many using docking stations near to venues including at University Station, Alexander Stadium, Edgbaston Stadium, Sandwell Aquatics Centre and Smithfield. More than 4,000 were new users who had never tried cycle hire before.

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “I’m enormously proud of how the region’s transport infrastructure ensured everyone could keep moving during the Games especially when you consider that Birmingham city centre alone experienced more than five million visits.

“Easy access to public transport and free Cycle Hire were key elements of our Games offer and I’m delighted that so many people took to two wheels and experienced the benefits of cycling.”

Adam Tranter, the West Midlands cycling and walking commissioner, added: “During the Commonwealth Games we saw the scheme double its usage within the first week. Since then, it’s continued its upward rise in popularity, ending with nearly 30,000 rides completed covering just under 50,000 miles in 12 days.

“It’s heartening to see such a shift to sustainable transport modes like public and active transport; it demonstrates the pent-up demand for active travel which we can unleash as we build new dedicated infrastructure in the region.

“The Games reminds us of the importance of providing convenient options for people to leave their cars at home. I strongly believe we can lock in some of these benefits witnessed during the Games; an appropriate legacy will be that everyone can benefit from a cleaner and greener future transport system.”

The cycle hire scheme was launched in 2021 by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), part of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), to encourage more people to become active and healthy and offer a convenient and more environmentally friendly alternative to the car for shorter journeys.

And with 1,500 bikes, including 150 eBikes, available for hire across eight town and city centre locations, the scheme has rapidly grown in popularity but hit new heights during the Games thanks in part to the free rides offer.

The normal cost of unlocking a pedal bike is £1 with a 5p per minute charge after that. This means a 20-minute cycle will cost £2 and an hour £4.

Cllr Liz Clements, Cabinet Member for Transport at Birmingham City Council, added: “These statistics show the huge demand for cycling and it would be great to see people who’ve enjoyed using WM Cycle Hire during the Games make a permanent change to cycling.

“At the city council, we’re forging ahead in the provision of safe cycling infrastructure. Cycling and walking are the answer to the three big challenges of congestion, air quality and carbon emissions in our city.”

The bikes can be hired using the Beryl app and are also available via the Swift App. For more information visit: https://www.wmcyclehire.co.uk/

The cycle hire scheme is operated under a five-year contract with Serco, which also runs London’s successful Santander Cycle Hire scheme, and has the opportunity for more docks and bikes to be provided as demand increases.

As well as having the bikes made locally by Stratford-upon-Avon-based Pashley, the contract between Serco and TfWM means the docking stations and locks are also manufactured here in the West Midlands.