More than 60 electric bikes will be hitting Glasgow streets this week following the expansion of the city’s ‘nextbike’ scheme.

In total, some 63 e-bikes and 21 electric stations have been launched to complement the existing Glasgow fleet of 650 standard bikes.

Glasgow residents have also been able to catch a glimpse of them in action at George Square today.

Customers will be able to rent e-bikes using their existing nextbike accounts, with rides charged on a pay-as-you-ride basis at £2 per 20 minutes or £30 per day. The launch of the e-bikes was made possible through a joint funding initiative with Glasgow City Council and the Transport Scotland eBike Grant Fund.

E-bikes are a combination of a conventional bicycle with a motor, help reduce the riders efforts to pedal around the city and are capable of reaching top speeds of around 25 kilometres per hour.

Councillor Anna Richardson, city convener for sustainability and carbon reduction welcomed the launch of the e-bikes and hailed them as a “fantastic option” for getting around the city.

“E-bikes are growing in popularity and having them available for hire in Glasgow is a fantastic option for getting about the city. Electrically-assisted bikes provide a boost to those who are building up their fitness, make longer trips by bike more manageable and open up cycling to people who may have not considered it before,” she said.

“Adding e-bikes to the hire fleet is another clear demonstration of our commitment to pursue more sustainable forms of transport in Glasgow and add to the effort to decarbonise how we travel across the city,” Richardson added.

Electric stations will be spread throughout Glasgow, with some located at George Square, Merchant Square, Possil Health Centre, Shawlands Railway Station and St Enoch Square.

Since the launch of the nextbike scheme in 2014, more than 830,000 bike rentals have been made and Glasgow locals have cycled more than 1.4 million kilometres – the equivalent of cycling to the moon and back almost four times.

Krysia Solheim, managing director at nextbike, commented: “E-bikes are not only great for reducing journey times and taking on steep hills – of which Glasgow has plenty – but they’re also a great way of increasing inclusivity and getting people of all abilities and fitness levels into cycling.

“Glasgow is one of our flagship schemes, so it’s fitting that the city will get our first significant fleet of e-bikes.”

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