Hills, snow and battering rain can’t seem to stop hardy Sheffielder’s jumping on a bike; the cycle sharing scheme OFO recently announced they’re looking to bring in more bikes due to their popularity in Sheff.
Before their first launch late 2017, and second phase roll out in January, there were concerns from some (us included) that Sheffield would just be too hilly for the app-based non-docking scheme to catch on in a big way.
But we’ve gone and exceeded all expectations and the scheme is going along swimmingly according to ofo. Currently at around 1,000 bikes, the company have said they plan to bring in even more of the cheerful yellow cycles.
One part of the reason for the bike’s success could be the famed Steel City steeliness, as Adam Rose, Sheffield Operations Manager for ofo told the Star: “We’ve been surprised by just how hardy Sheffielders are. Down south we see rider data fluctuate quite heavily with the weather, but in Sheffield we don’t see that as much.”
However, ofo have said that they do see good rider numbers all over the UK in poor weather, so let’s not get too boastful yet. Ofo will be releasing some more in depth data soon so we can see exactly how the scheme is going – check in here in the coming weeks!
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OFO is a free app which allows users to locate and unlock nearby bikes, from which point they will be able to cycle around the city for just 50p per half hour (daily charges are capped at £5).
The non-docking aspect comes from the fact that, unlike ‘Boris bikes’ you don’t have to leave them in special lock up points. However you can get free bonus credit for leaving them in designated ‘parking zones’.
