West Midlands Cycle Hire’s (WMCH) free offer of cycle hire during the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games has seen double the amount of bike and ebikes being used during the first week of the scheme, compared to an average week. 

Designed to help manage traffic congestion during the Games and offer more people a chance to get to sporting venues through active travel, the offer has seen over 13,000 cycles hired during the first seven days, which is over 6,500 more than was hired the prior week.

Riders have also clocked up an average distance of 2.76 kilometres per journey.

Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “Our cycle hire scheme has been a phenomenal success so far and it brings me great pride to see so many people opting for active travel to visit sporting events and enjoy everything that the West Midlands has to offer this summer.

“With a total of over 13,000 cycling trips being made so far since the free offer started, it is clear to see that this initiative – along with free public transport for ticket holders - has been incredibly warmly received by the public.

“We’re keen to encourage cycling uptake in our region long past the summer, so if you want to give it a go then there is no better time to discover the benefits first-hand than right now as every resident and visitor to the region can use our cycle-hire scheme free of charge up until Monday 8th August.”