Glasgow Bike Hire Scheme Hits 2.5million Hires

Published: 27 November 2023

Glasgow's OVO Bikes hire scheme has pedal powered its way to 2.5 million journeys with use of the service shooting up in the past two years.

The rapid growth in the bike hire scheme has gone hand in hand with a significant expansion of the hire network, which is now well beyond the original target of providing 1000 bikes at 100 hire stations in the city. 

The scheme, which is delivered by nextbike by TIER in partnership with Glasgow City Council, began in 2014 and in the first four years just under half a million hires were recorded. By Spring 2022, the number of OVO Bikes journeys around Glasgow had gone well beyond 1.5 million.  Almost a million trips have been made in the last 20 months alone. In August this year, rentals for both standard bikes and e-bikes were averaging almost 2000 per day.

With 113 hire stations now in place, the hire station network now extends from Mount Vernon in the east of the city to Scotstoun and Anniesland in west, and from Springburn, Possil and Maryhill in the north to Corkerhill and Cathcart in the south.

Councillor Angus Millar, City Convener for Climate and Transport, hailed the 2.5 million milestone as strong evidence of the growing participation in active travel in Glasgow.

Councillor Millar said: "We've known for some time that Glasgow's bike hire scheme has been a huge success. It is easily one of the most popular bike hire schemes in the UK.

"But these latest figures show Glasgow's bike hire scheme is moving to another level. The scheme is now embedded in the city's transport network and is supporting all kinds of every day journeys. Whether it's for the morning commute, or a quick work trip or just for leisure, people are seeing the hire bikes as a realistic option for getting about Glasgow

"The expansion of the hire network into more and more areas of the city is making it easier and easier for people to pick up on a convenient and flexible service. It is clear increasing numbers see travelling by bike as healthy and good for the environment. There shouldn't be any surprise that thousands of people are joining the scheme every month."

Five new stations have recently been installed by the People's Palace, on Pollokshaws Road next to Pollok Country Park, at the north east corner of Blythswood Square, next to Shields Road Subway Station and also at Glasgow Kelvin College East End Campus. A further station on Clyde Place next to the King George V Bridge will be in place shortly. Nine existing stations will also be upgraded to include docking stations for e-bikes.

Jess Strangward, Regional Operations Manager, Nextbike by TIER added: "The OVO Bikes scheme in Glasgow is a phenomenal success story, with the city having openly embraced active travel on our shared bikes and e-bikes. Even nearly ten years after launching, the appetite for cycling in Glasgow is continuing to grow. With the support of OVO we are continuously evolving the service to meet that desire for accessible, sustainable transport. Reaching 2.5 million journeys is a brilliant milestone, and we know the next one will soon be hit!"

Since the scheme started in 2014, almost 240,000 people have registered with nextbike with 2880 people on average registering every month in 2023.