800 out of 1,000 Bee Bikes now damaged or missing

GREATER Manchester’s cycle hire scheme is being scaled back after a spate of vandalism took most of the Bee Bikes off the road.

- JOSEPH TIMAN

Around 800 of the 1,000 bikes which had been on the network are currently damaged or missing.

Just 160 bikes were available to hire two weeks ago, but transport bosses are hoping this will rise to 500 by the end of August. Meanwhile, more than 1,000 bike stands across the city-region will temporarily close.

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) says this 40 pc reduction will increase availability of bikes at the stands which remain open. They are introducing new locking rules and heavier fines when bikes are not returned properly.

It comes nearly five years after Mobikes were removed from the city due to vandalism and theft. The Chinese company behind the bike-sharing scheme suspended its service after around 15 months on the streets of Manchester. Earlier this year, a spike in vandalism resulted in a backlog of Bee Bike repairs leaving the 64,350 active users struggling to find bicycles in the city. The temporarily smaller footprint of the scheme means more Bee Bikes will be available where demand is highest – predominantly in Manchester city centre.