Surrey County Council, Guildford Borough Council and the University of Surrey are partnering to introduce a fleet of 300+ e-bikes and 50 docking stations, set up across Guildford to link the town centre with travel hubs, places of interest, shopping, and education & leisure.

A study carried out by Guildford Borough Council was revised in 2022 to investigate whether a bike share scheme in Guildford would be successful and it was found to be a good idea. 

The popularity of electric bikes in shared bike schemes, now accounting for 45% of rides, suggests there is significant demand for shared e-bikes in Guildford.  

The scheme will:

• Reach areas with fewer public transport options and provide travellers with a sustainable mode of transport
• Offer a low-cost addition to the existing public transport network
• Be a step towards decarbonising the town centre by improving air quality and reducing traffic
• Offer an alternative to car journeys
• Promote a healthier lifestyle

You can hire a bike using an app, downloaded on your smart phone. 

Find the nearest available bike on the app and then tap to unlock.

The maximum is 180 minutes riding / 50+ miles range, but some bikes will have a lower charge (i.e. shorter time and range). Any bikes below 30 minutes / 5 miles charge are automatically reported for a battery swap and are not shown on the app.

The stations will vary in size but will generally have a capacity of 5-10 cycles. Most stations will have 8 docks but see the question below for further information. 

The bikes have GPS tracking, and there is a “geofence” (virtual station area) drawn around the physical hub, so if all docks at a station are occupied bikes can be parked next to the station. Users will have to make sure the bikes are locked, and importantly are not obstructing the pavement or road.

This is a hybrid scheme where bikes can be left in both parking bays on the road or marked parking areas on the pavement. 

All our bikes are equipped with bells, brakes and lights for safe riding, and we urge our riders to wear helmets.

No, bikes can't be left free floating and have to be parked in docking areas or you may face sanctions.

Bikes have to be left in a geo-fenced parking area or in on-road bays or the rider can receive a parking fine for leaving it outside of these areas.  

If the company receives reports of users driving recklessly or sees this from tracking data, they can be barred from accessing the e-bikes. 

We can designate areas as no-go, or go-slow so, that the bike motor will not work when it enters the area or be speed limited to a walking pace.  

We have selected bikes, with a max speed of 15mph, that have sufficient power assist to cycle up the hills in Guildford.  

While the minimum legal age to use an e-bike in the UK is 14, the Guildford scheme will have a minimum age of 16. Anyone over 16 must not unlock a bike for a rider under 16.

No, as with all pedal cycles no licence is needed.

The bikes are fully serviced every 6 months but there is a regular check of all bikes after every 6 rides – any that have reported defects or problems are checked and removed/repaired as part of the redistribution process.