The Dundee e-bike scheme has been ‘frozen’ for the winter

The e-bike scheme in Dundee is shutting down for the winter, leaving commuters out in the cold.

The decision to “freeze” Dundee’s e-bike hire scheme from November 21 has been criticised by the city’s main cycling group, the Dundee Cycling Forum.

The organisation has vigorously defended maintaining important cycle routes throughout the winter to ensure that commuters can continue using them.

Embark maintains a strong presence in the city thanks to its sponsorship of Ride On’s bikes.

Dundee City Council is also backing the programme.

However, Dundee Cycling Forum disagrees with the fact that active travel has been shut down- they say it is a 360-day subscription!

The e-bike businesses’ bosses say they need this winter’s downtime to ‘prepare for an amazing springtime.’

We will take advantage of the cold weather, when fewer journeys are made, to have a winter shutdown and ramp up for spring to be ready.

The company said to customers, “Our service will be frozen until springtime.”

People who commute on an e-bike in winter lose out.

Prepaid plans and virtual wallets will remain on hold until the e-bike system opens again for customers.

More than 24,000 people in Dundee have taken one of the company’s electric bikes for a spin, according to the company.

To better connect more communities in 2021, managers promised to double the number of city e-bikes and charging racks.

Broughty Ferry was the most frequented destination on the waterfront route to the V&A design museum.

The company’s success in 2021 in encouraging more people in the city to use bikes for their daily commutes was spoken about by members of the company.

Those customers will have to find an alternative mode of transportation for the winter.

We apologise for the inconvenience this has caused, and we are working to rectify the problem as soon as possible, the company wrote in an email to customers.

We began implementing our shared e-bike system in Dundee last year with great enthusiasm.

Nearly 25,000 people have committed to a green method of transportation, and we’ve been lucky to witness the daily life of this magnificent metropolis, which we are honoured to call home.

We are getting ready for an incredible burst of activity – more stations, e-bikes, and more features.

Our group will examine Dundee’s transit habits and enhance mobility by adding new stops, moving some of the least popular stops to busier areas, and improving the experience.

“More stations will mean more e-bikes.”

Active transport should not be terminated.

Members of the Dundee Cycling Forum have previously campaigned for winter gritting on popular cycling routes.

It is outrageous that active travel is being shut down,” a group spokesperson posted on social media. “They claim it is a 360-day subscription.”

Dundee City Council has been approached for comment.