Co Bikes, part of the Co Cars group of shared mobility services, has announced the opening of its latest electric bike station at the new Aldi store, Pinhoe.

Exeter’s community bike share scheme is on a roll

Co Bikes, Exeter’s popular electric bike share scheme, is on a roll with its newest docked bike station at the brand-new Aldi store on Exhibition Way, Pinhoe. The site is due to go live on 29th July 2021 in line with the store’s official opening.

The new site is situated along the E4 cycle route, which provides a safe and attractive route for all users. The Aldi, Pinhoe site is the 20th Co Bike installation since inception and the seventh new station to launch this year. Other sites launched in 2021 include Princesshay Shopping Centre, Ikea, Sidwell Street, Exeter College’s Future Skills Centre near Exeter Airport, Exeter College Hele Road and The Moor, Falmouth. Further new sites are in the planning and will be announced soon.

Mark Hodgson, managing director of Co Bikes comments: “I’m extremely proud to launch our 20th site – this is a huge milestone for us and Devon County Council since first launching Co Bikes in Exeter with just 20 bikes in 2016. The Aldi store in Pinhoe is ideally located for not only local shoppers picking up a few essentials, but for commuters looking for a fun, fast and sustainable way to travel to the city centre. We hope local residents enjoy the bikes as much as our other members do.”

Dan Oakenfull, regional managing director at Aldi UK said: “The electric bike station is an excellent addition to our new store on Exhibition Way and it will no doubt be popular with the local community. We look forward to welcoming our new customers, with the bikes offering a fun and sustainable way for shoppers to visit us.”

Use of the Co Bike network increased by over 400 per cent across 2020. The shared mobility network introduced 100 new electric bikes to its fleet in June 2021. The bikes are the ideal alternative to the car for fast and safe cross city trips and hills will be a breeze – especially in this hot weather.

Using Co Bikes is easy, new customers need to download the nextbike app and register for an account. It costs from little as £2 an hour to use a Co Bike if customers buy a discount BikeRider minutes bundle. To activate the account, customers make a £10 payment which is then used for their first Co Bikes trips, providing over 3 hours of cycling.

The Co Bikes network is powered by nextbike, who operate shared bike schemes in 200 cities around the world. Co Bikes is also part of Co Cars, the car club for people, communities and businesses across Exeter and the Southwest. Together, the cars and bikes form an economical, equitable and sustainable network of shared transport options to help reduce dependence on private car ownership.

Co Bikes are now available to hire or return from Aldi, Exhibition Way, Pinhoe.