Brakes hit on plan to expand Inverness's electric bikes service

Plans to expand Inverness's shared electric bikes scheme have been put on hold.

Regional transport partnership HiTrans is still keen to add more pick-up/drop-off charging points and has given assurance the scheme will continue following a period of disruption earlier this month.

Provider Hi-Bike Inverness issued an apology following a technical fault which meant the service could not operate for a few days, claiming it was unforeseen issues due to the legacy left by a previous operator.

But now Hi-Trans has said the popular hire scheme, which is run in Inverness and Fort William, will continue to operate while a more permanent solution is found following the collapse of the Canadian-based provider of the bikes.

It stated that Hi-Bike had experienced reduced maintenance support since December, due to staff shortages with the operator Bewegen. However, HiTrans has introduced local solutions for maintenance in Inverness and Fort William, putting an end to the previous issues when a number of bikes were out of service.

Bewegen announced in March that they would no longer provide operational and maintenance support from the end of May. HiTrans are now working directly with IT provider WeGoShare, enabling the system to continue to operate.

A spokesman for HiTrans said: “We will continue to support the operation of the bike share schemes until a more permanent solution can be found, and both Inverness and Fort William systems continue to operate as normal.

"We still hope to expand the Inverness system, but plans are on hold until supply issues are resolved.”

Hi-Bike has recorded more than 20,000 rides across the two locations since launching in October 2021.

Additional docks are planned this summer at Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre and Dochgarroch Locks.

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.