A new business has seized upon the controversial new-look city centre roads by bringing e-bike hire to Aberdeen beach to help “beat the bus gates”.
Citizens in their thousands have fought the latest roads overhaul, with the end of a grace period in the low emission zone looming too.
The Press and Journal reported last week that 81% of people taking part in a poll opposed the bus gates around Guild Street, Market Street and Bridge Street in the city centre.
With bike lanes soon to be installed along the length Union Street and up the Beach Boulevard, a new business is hoping to provide a two-wheeled solution to the problems posed by the new layout.
Velohub has set up shop at the beachfront Transition Extreme, targeting personal and business trade.
They hope city firms will ditch their cars and vans to take one of their e-cargo bikes betweens shops, sites and client visits.
Velohub owner Dale Robertson tells The P&J that “beating bus gates and breezing through the LEZ” are benefits that might bring some people through their door.
But it’s not a business based on negativity alone.
Mr Robertson adds: “Attitudes to e-bikes are shifting.
“Hardcore cyclists who previously saw them as ‘cheating’ are increasingly recognising that the assistance offered by an electric bike enables more people of all ages and levels of fitness to take up the sport, with all the benefits it brings.
“And as an alternative to the motor car or delivery van in our city centres, they can also benefit the environment.”
How will the Velohub differ from Aberdeen’s other e-bike rental scheme?
For more than a year, Big Issue has been running an e-bike rental scheme in Aberdeen.
The council invited the social enterprise to run its hire scheme. Since its launch in 2022, its central Aberdeen patch has been ever-widening.
But, with e-bikes costing north of £1,300, owner Mr Robertson thinks there’s a market for longer term rentals as people may want to go for more than a spin before buying.
He says: “Unlike a pay-as-you go bike rental scheme which is usually limited to the city centre, Velohub offers the opportunity for customers to hire a variety of different e-bikes – mountain bikes, gravel or touring bikes – for longer periods.
“This will allow them to take the bike further afield and explore the excellent cycling opportunities in the region.”
Mr Robertson thinks the shop, which he runs with fellow cycling enthusiast Ian Somers, could cause a shift of gear in the city centre, cutting congestion, improving the environment, fitness and mental health and bolstering businesses’ green credentials.
As well as selling and hiring, the Velohub will offer bike servicing and repair.
Union Street tsar backs Velohub’s beach e-bike rental shop
And the latest addition to the beach has been backed by the man leading efforts to get the wheels turning on Granite Mile change.
Bob Keiller, the CEO of the Our Union Street campaign, already uses his own e-bike to commute to HQ at Union Terrace Gardens.
“I use my e-bike to travel into the city centre on weekdays and to cycle with friends in the countryside at the weekends,” he tells us.
“I have a commuter e-bike and I am looking forward to trying e-mountain bikes and e-road bikes from Velohub. What a superb addition to the city.”
Read more:
- Plans for an Aberdeen cable car hang by a thread
- The latest on segregated bike lanes on Union Street
- All you need to know about the low emission zone in Aberdeen
- What city planners want from a decade of roads transformation
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