A bicycle hire scheme for Newport which hit the brakes could soon get back on track.
The city council hopes to revive a city-wide bike hire scheme by March 2025 after an initial attempt to roll it out was unsuccessful.
Bike-hire schemes are typically contracted out to third-party companies which provide the equipment and infrastructure.
A recent report shows the council is optimistic a deal can be struck with a firm to introduce a scheme to Newport in the near future.
The initiative could also bring e-bikes to Newport's city centre.
If it goes ahead, the council will need to arrange funding for the scheme and have a system of docking stations installed throughout the city.
A first attempt to set up a scheme fell short, however, because the council was “unable to award a contract for [its] delivery”.
The council now plans to make a “revised offer to the market”, according to the report.
This would not be the first time a bike hire scheme has been introduced in Wales, however, and previous events in Cardiff and other areas with similar initiatives represent a cautionary tale.
A similar scheme with Nextbike was scrapped in the capital and the Vale of Glamorgan in 2023 because thousands of bikes were stolen or vandalised, it was reported at the time.
That followed a temporary suspension of the scheme in 2021, again due to the impacts of thefts or damage.
At the time, Inspector Darren Grady of South Wales Police said: "The minority who steal or vandalise these bikes ruin the facility for others and we are committed to working with Nextbike and the local authority to continue clamping down on this mindless behaviour.
“We need the community to be an extra pair of eyes and to please report suspicious activity, vandalism, and theft.”
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