Bath & North East Somerset Council has said it will monitor the impact of new e-bikes being parked on pavements across the city.
One of the new TIER WESTlink e-bikes available in Bath | Photo © TIER
The recently launched Tier service sees the introduction of e-bikes to Bath in addition to the e-scooter service, which has been running since October 2020.
The e-scooters, e-bikes and e-cargo bikes have been commissioned by the West of England Combined Authority (WECA).
A fleet of 500 shared vehicles is now in place in Bath following Tier taking over the West of England Combined Authority contract.
Concerns have been raised about the impact of the new e-bikes, such as obstructing footways, and how this will affect people with access needs.
B&NES Council and WECA have agreed plans to ensure smooth implementation of the e-bike scheme, including considering measures such as on-road parking bays and bike racks on pavements where appropriate.
A new mailbox for comments and suggestions has been set up by Bath & North East Somerset Council ([email protected]) and Tier are deploying 10 Rangers in Bath to manage the scheme.
Councillor Sarah Warren, Bath & North East Somerset’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency and Sustainable Travel said: “We welcome the introduction of e-bikes to Bath.
“They have the potential to be an extremely useful addition to people’s sustainable travel choices and to our joint effort to tackle climate change.
“However, we all recognise that e-bikes require different infrastructure to support them when compared to the e-scooters, especially as e-bikes are much bigger and heavier than e-scooters.
“I am pleased therefore that Tier will be shortly reducing the number of e-bikes and increasing the number of e-scooters in Bath so they are roughly equal in number, which should help address this.
“We understand Tier is also planning a long-term rental scheme for e-scooters which also has the potential to reduce the pressure on street parking in the city centre.
“We will continue to work with the West of England Combined Authority and Tier to smooth the transition and help ensure the scheme is a success.
“I welcome comments from local residents and businesses on how the scheme is being implemented in the city.”
