Electric bike hire scheme launches in Milton Keynes following success of e-scooter trial

Lime has today (Tuesday) launched an electric bike hire scheme in MK.

The move follows the success of the company’s e-scooter trial and is part of the city’s commitment to providing residents with sustainable travel.

Initially, 100 of the bright orange-bikes will be available under the new scheme, which is running in partnership with Milton Keynes City Council.

They can be used on roads or redways and the top speed is 14.8 mph, with an average speed of 12 mph.

Lime has been hiring out e-scooters in Mk for the past two years. During that time, 740,000 trips have been made on the machine, replacing an estimated 185,000 car journeys.

A spokesman for the company said: “Existing Lime riders have already embedded Lime into their daily lives - 50% of riders say they use Lime in MK because it's convenient and almost a third (29%) of riders said they used Lime in MK to connect to or from public transport on their last trip.

"Therefore the new bikes will provide another way to get around the city.”

Lime’s Lime Access will be available, allowing emergency service and NHS workers, jobseekers, travel concession pass holders, and students can get 50% off all trips by signing up.

MK riders can also opt in to round up the cost of their trip to the nearest £1 with the difference donated to charity with Lime Hero.

Hal Stevenson, Senior Public Affairs Manager, UKI at Lime, told the Citizen: "We're delighted to be bringing Lime e-bikes back to Milton Keynes, making Lime the first shared e-bike and e-scooter operator with two sustainable transport options available for residents and visitors to hire in the city."

He added: “There are already more than 100,000 Lime riders in Milton Keynes and the ability to now hire either a Lime e-bike or e-scooter will ensure that residents are always able to find a sustainable travel option that best suits their needs.

"We're continuing to work closely with Milton Keynes City Council to promote more sustainable travel behaviour to help the city reach its target to be net-zero by 2030."