BASKETBALL stars from the Leicester Riders are swapping hoops for wheels as they lend their backing to Santander Cycles Leicester, the city’s e-bike share scheme.
Darien Nelson-Henry, Riders captain and GB International Conner Washington, both part of the BBL Championship-winning Riders team this season, tried out the bikes to celebrate the installation of a new docking station at Foundry Square, close to the Riders’ home at the Morningside Arena, in Charter Street.
It means people visiting the Morningside Arena will be able to arrive by e-bike.
Kevin Routledge, Riders Chairman, said: “This is a fantastic scheme and it was great to try out the e-bikes. We are really pleased to have a docking station close to our arena. We’re on a great route here, with traffic-free access to Abbey Park and the Space Centre. It’s only a short distance to the city centre, Leicester College, the bus stations, the train station, the universities and other sports stadia, so it’s the perfect place for people to pick-up an e-bike and ride like the Riders!”
Santander Cycles Leicester offers anyone visiting, living or working in the city the opportunity to get around by e-bike. New docking stations, where you can pick up and return the bikes, are currently being added at key neighbourhood locations, including Queens Road, the National Space Centre, the Brite Centre in Braunstone and St Margaret’s bus station. Scheme sponsors Santander will also host a docking station at their HQ in Carlton Park, Narborough.
Thirty-eight docking stations are currently online, with a total of at least 50 planned once the current round of expansion is completed in the next few weeks. This will make Santander Cycles Leicester and its fleet of 500 bikes the largest docked e-bike scheme in the UK.
Since the lifting of lockdown restrictions in April last year, the e-bike share scheme has already been used by more than 20,000 people, with 50,000 trips made on the electric bikes.
Deputy city mayor for environment and transportation, Cllr Adam Clarke, said: “Leicester is an ideal city to explore by e-bike, with journeys possible from the outskirts of the city to the centre in around half an hour. There aren’t many major hills, but an e-bike can make light work of them anyway!
“What this scheme offers is affordable, green, congestion-busting transport for anyone moving around Leicester, and I hope lots of people will join the Leicester Riders and thousands of others who have already given it a try.”
Santander Cycles Leicester is operated by e-mobility specialists Ride On, on behalf of Leicester City Council. To use the scheme, you register online, buy a plan based on your needs and then use your smartphone to unlock an e-bike and start riding. Pay as you go, monthly and annual memberships are all available.
To find out more and to sign up to Santander Cycles Leicester, visit www.rideonleicester.com
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Notes to editors
Picture shows l-r Conner Washington and Darien Nelson-Henry from Leicester Riders
Santander Cycles Leicester is a £600,000 project funded by Leicester City Council through the Transforming Cities Fund, following the council’s successful bid to the Department for Transport. It is sponsored by Santander UK, with investment from operator Ride On and their delivery partner Enzen Global.
The Transforming Cities Fund is a major £80million city-wide programme of investment in sustainable transport, backed by £40million of Government cash from the Department for Transport. This ambitious package of works focuses on major sustainable transport improvements to provide attractive choices for people to get to work, education, shops and other local facilities to help support the city’s growth and deliver on the council’s climate emergency, air quality and healthy living commitments.
The programme includes the development of new bus priority corridors linking the city centre to local neighbourhoods and suburbs along with the continued development of a network of high-quality cycling and walking routes throughout the city, building on the success of the Connecting Leicester programme. As well as the Santander Cycles Leicester e-bike share scheme, it has also seen the introduction of electric buses onto Park and Ride services.
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