The hire bike scheme in Headington, Oxonbike has come to a halt. It is such a shame as what was essentially a pilot scheme was initially well received and becoming an essential part of some people’s commute. Oxford has waited a long time for a public hire bike system, watching enviously while other towns quickly implemented often city wide schemes and just as our own little trial was building momentum it was quickly extinguished with its future in doubt.

As regular users would know by now Oxford’s hire bikes used a GPS tracking unit that spat a key out at you that utilised a normal D lock which you could use as you liked along your journey and lock it up at the end once the system was happy you were in a recognised docking area. This emerging technology owned by Grandscheme was seen as a major stepping stone for public hire schemes as it was easy to implement and required hardly any major infrastructure changes like bulky docking stations. Unfortunately for Oxford the company Grandscheme who own the bikes has gone bust halting the technology in its tracks.

I was lucky to be part of the implementation of the Oxonbike scheme as my shop Walton Street Cycles provided the mechanical support for the bicycles. I spoke to many users of the scheme and local cycle groups during its first tentative months and the consensus was the scheme was great and even talk of expansion was regularly discussed.

It is sad therefore that as of last Saturday it has been cruelly whipped out from underneath us.

Oxfordshire County Council who directed the public money in the direction of the hire bike scheme have already said they will be looking for another company to provide a similar scheme. Hopefully it will be resolved quickly so the commuters that have come to rely on the free 30 minute usage will be able to continue to choose a green alternative form of transport. I just hope also some of those converts to cycling carry on as opposed to a return to driving.

However just as these bikes disappear from the Headington park and ride, new charges for parking are being applied, making what was an inviting free park and cycle ride now nothing of the sort. Now those with permits in the city centre will see no incentives to leave the car out of town.

Although there were teething problems with the new technology in the GPS units at the start these were being ironed out by Grandscheme, the actual bike underneath a French design worked pretty well and we as the mechanics saw few punctures or even more serious faults during their time on the roads. Hopefully there will quickly be a replacement scheme.