THE FINAL stands for a bike hire service across Reading have been removed four years after it ceased pedalling.
The ReadyBike scheme launched in 2014, echoing a similar pay-as-you-go scheme in London, but the service stopped in March 2019.
According to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, the scheme cost the taxpayer £1.2 million to set up with a council subsidy of £196,000.
Other figures from the FOI show the ReadyBikes were seldom used, with 116,538 rental trips being made between June 2014 to March 2019, with each journey costing the taxpayer £11.98.
Now, the rails that housed the hire bikes are being removed from Reading town centre.
Stephen Graham, posted on the social media network that everyone still calls Twitter, said: “It appears the last evidence of the Reading bike hire scheme are being quietly erased.”
The news that the ranks have been removed comes amid disappointment from the council as it faces a delay to its project to open a town centre Cycle Hub.
The hub was meant to open in West Street in a unit owned by Primark, but the fashion chain withdrew its offer of a lease of the unit to the council this September.
A spokesperson for Reading Borough Council said: “Initial set up and operational costs for ReadyBike were paid for by Central Government.
“A decision was made to remove the docking stations but retain the sites for any future schemes, and their removal has been taking place over some considerable time now.”
After the bikes were put in storage, some were offered to key workers in June 2020, a donation of 50 bikes was made to hotels in March 2021, and a further 50 bikes were donated to small town centre businesses in September 2021.
Regarding the setback for the Cycle Hub project, the council is working to find an alternative site.
The council spokesperson listed initiatives and schemes designed to encourage cycling in Reading:
The Shinfield Road segregated cycle lanes and improved pedestrian crossings which are currently being constructed.
The Bath Road/Castle Hill segregated cycle lanes and junction improvements, which will begin construction in Spring 2024
Facilitating ‘School Street’ schemes which encourage children and parents to walk and cycle in school. They are currently operational in four locations and a public consultation has recently been undertaken for a further scheme.
Bikeability cycle training is available for pupils in primary schools in the borough and, separate adult cycle training.
Working with the Sustrans charity to provide a dedicated active travel officer to work with schools to develop sustainable travel initiatives
The council also has a range of strategic goals for improving cycling in Reading that make up the Transport Strategy 2040 which is currently out for consultation.
