Time to saddle up for Black Country bike hire scheme

Bike stands are being installed in and around a Black Country town centre – ahead of a new cycle hire scheme being introduced in the borough later this month.

The West Midlands Cycle Hire Scheme is already up and running in areas across the region, including Wolverhampton, and is due to be rolled out in Stourbridge.

The grey and green bikes will be available in and around the town, with docking stations at key sites.

These will include Stourbridge Bus Station, a spot near the Bonded Warehouse and in the town centre itself.

The bikes can be hired using the Beryl Cycle Hire app, which will include Covid safety advice.

Later this year, the bike hire will also be available via the new Swift App. It costs £1 to unlock a bike and 5p per minute after that – this means a 20-minute cycle will cost £2 and an hour would be £4.

Balvinder Heran, deputy chief executive at Dudley Council, said: “This is a great scheme to encourage people to be more active in their local communities as well as giving people an alternative option to using the car and therefore reducing car journeys and local levels of pollution.

“We have spoken to local people about how the scheme will be rolled out in Stourbridge.

“And if it is successful we hope to roll this out in other areas across the borough.”

The cycle hire scheme has been delivered by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), part of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), to encourage more members of the public to become active and healthy.

The scheme also offers a convenient and more environmentally-friendly alternative to the car for shorter journeys.