Rationale

Some key internal and external stakeholders have been given the opportunity to comment on the Business case prior to the 24 November ETS report because officers believe their feedback would be of interest to members.

1. Internal stakeholder responses to the Business case

A. Sustainability team

• Is the energy procured for the bikes from 100% renewable sources?
• Are circular principles built into the procurement process of the bike purchasing? Are bikes purchased recycled and refurbished old bikes or made from refurbished components parts to reduce use of new materials.
• Is bikeshare actively reaching out to make the service accessible to the most marginalised communities?
• Are there opportunities for local job creations, skills development and local businesses to benefit from the Bikeshare scheme?

B. Transport Policy Team

Option 1 - Expanded Brighton & Hove Scheme, is supported by the Transport Policy & Strategy team as this would offer high value for money in bringing the benefits of bikeshare to a wider area within the city, in particular some areas with low car ownership levels and areas of deprivation. The high Value for Money assessment of this option and the predicted operational surplus as opposed to deficit means we support this option being taken forward. The addition of e-bikes is a great benefit for the scheme in terms of facilitating longer distance journeys, and journeys over challenging topographies, which the addition of the wider city area geography would bring. Expansion of the scheme would support the emerging Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) and emerging Local Transport Plan 5 (LTP5) documents.

Working with our city region partners, we would support the concept of Option 2, a Joint City Region Scheme, as this will bring wide benefits across the city border, to known commuting areas into Brighton & Hove. The planned addition of e-bikes would suit this scheme area well due to the larger distances concerned.

1. External partners.

A. South Downs National Park.

Fig 3.1 in Steer report: The inclusion of only NCN routes on this map suggests that there is little or no other cycle infrastructure that might be used by Bikeshare participants. The NCN routes themselves are probably of little importance in terms of the network of infrastructure that is most likely to be used by Bikeshare customers. In 6.46 reference is made to a cycle network of 38km within the City, it would be useful to see to this illustrated in the Business Case, in relation to the existing and proposed provision of Hubs.

Option 1: SDNPA supports the expansion of the scheme to include the wider Brighton and Hove area. The future siting of Bike Share Hubs under any expanded scheme should include provision for facilities at strategic housing development sites already identified such as Toad Hole Valley and any new sites currently under consideration.

Option 2: Unfortunately, the map Fig 3.2 failed to open on several occasions and so no detailed comments can be made on the proposed locations included in the Joint City Region Scheme. However, we support the proposed coverage of the Joint City Region Scheme and understand the rationale in 3.14 for excluding Lewes Town from the current proposals. We hope, as infrastructure develops and as more evidence on travel behaviour is gathered, that the potential for Bikeshare in Lewes Town will be revisited.

We note in 3.16 the lack of available travel data from Bikeshare hubs at the universities’ campuses at Falmer and would support the recommendation to obtain further data and explore the potential for future demand in these locations and between Falmer and Lewes.

Fleet Assumptions

We support the proposed 50/50 split of standard and e-bikes. The provision of e-bikes in the fleet will increase the potential for longer journeys, including journeys between settlements such as Peacehaven and Brighton, Shoreham and Brighton.

Chapter 6: Strategic Case

The National Policy context should reference the most recent national strategies and documents including Gear Change: A Bold Vision for Cycling and Walking, July 2020 and Cycling and Infrastructure Design LTN 1/20.

General Comments

We feel there is much potential for the Bikeshare scheme as part of the visitor offer for Brighton and Hove – not just within the seafront and town centre areas but beyond to Stanmer Park, Devil’s Dyke and Ditchling Beacon. These three areas are served by Breeze buses which are also part of the visitor/leisure offer in Brighton and open up the potential for combining bus and bike experiences. We recommend further evidence gathering within the existing Bikeshare operation to gain a better understanding of how the scheme is currently used by visitors and the potential for further expansion of this market.

B. Clinical Commissioning group

No comments received to date.