Penarth Railway Station in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales now benefits from the first electric bike-sharing scheme in Wales.
Network Rail, Transport for Wales and the Vale of Glamorgan Council have joined forces to deliver the nextbike scheme outside the station.
Passengers can now get off the train and explore the seaside town through one of ten e-bikes which are docked and charged at the station.
The council are expecting to roll out more e-bike points in partnership with nextbike over the coming months.
An app from nextbike is available for customers to rent a bicycle which can be used and returned to any compatible nextbike docking station.
Transport for Wales Customer Integration Manager Jay Bryce said “Bike share schemes are a fantastic way of encouraging people to be more active and make greener choices when traveling. Electric bikes come with all the health benefits, while making it much easier to gain momentum and travel up hills.
“Having one of Wales' first e-bike share points at Penarth really does endorse our commitment to making stations the gateways to the communities we serve. We're investing significantly in our stations over the next few years and working in partnership with local councils and Network Rail will really see them become local assets, rather than just somewhere you board a train.”
Aled Huxtable, Business Development Manager for Network Rail in Wales said: “This is welcome investment at Penarth station for our passengers. With our stakeholders, we are aiming to make stations an integral part of each community, and this will do just that; by improving the facilities available to the community and promoting sustainable ways in which people can travel to and from the station will make Penarth a greener and more enjoyable place to visit.”
Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Services and Transport, Cllr Peter King said: “Having declared a climate emergency earlier this year, it is imperative as a Council we continue to support active and sustainable methods of transport. The bikes are simple to use and tariffs tend to be cheaper than travelling by car, bus or train.
“The initiative will benefit the health and wellbeing of our commuters and residents, as well as being an asset to tourism in the area. If this proves to be a success, we hope to see the scheme expand further.”
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Bit like the Santander bikes in London. Very nice.