Richmond Dockless Bikeshare Feedback

Overview

The Council is currently reviewing the use of dockless bikes in the borough as we work towards our target of 15% of all trips being carried out by bicycle by 2026.

The provider ofo first launched its bikeshare scheme in Richmond borough in May 2018, and at its peak had 200 yellow bikes in the local area. However, most bikes were withdrawn in October 2018 and in January 2019, ofo announced that it was ending its operations in the UK.

During the six months ofo operated in Richmond, they recorded almost 19,000 trips, and ofo were pleased with the low levels of vandalism and theft that the bikes were subjected to. 

People could use the ofo app on their smartphone to find, unlock and pay for the hire of the bike. There were no docking stations and people could park the bike anywhere that a regular bike might be parked.

The new development in the market is for dockless bikeshare schemes to use electric bikes. Electric bikes enable people to carry out longer journeys and also make cycling accessible to people who might find it too strenuous (especially hilly routes). One such scheme (‘Lime’) has recently launched in Brent and Ealing and some of their bikes have been ridden into the borough. Anyone can download the Lime app and use these bikes. 

Whether or not you have used ofo bikes or any other bikeshare scheme, we are interested in your views of such schemes in the borough. We would like to find out more about:

• the kind of journeys people use the bikes for
• anything that might put people off using the bikes
• any problems that people encounter, whether using the bikes or not

We want to learn from the ofo pilot experience to inform our response to any other bikeshare schemes that might be interested in operating in the borough.

You can access the online survey below, but if you would like a paper copy, please contact use at consultation@richmond.gov.uk