Pashley looks to smart future for its bike share schemes

Smart technology is out to improve and grow the increasing number of public bike share schemes being deployed across the UK and in Europe – and it’s all about giving bikes a ‘brain’.

Bicycle brand Pashley might be synonymous with classic loop frames and wicker baskets, but Britain’s oldest bicycle maker has a major role in the growing sustainable transport market.

One of its key involvements is in bike share schemes, being introduced by an increasing number of local authorities to reduce pollution and improve urban environments.

Pashley is already the manufacturer behind bike share schemes in London and the West Midlands, and it has now developed a new approach, giving hire bikes a ‘brain’, so that they can gather, communicate and receive data.

That places the intelligence in the bike, rather than the dock, meaning wired-in docks are no longer required. Instead, bikes connect over the air via an app.

The bike locks into a dock Pashley has developed, which sits on a platform that can be positioned in areas of greatest demand.

Bikes are not free-floating. Instead, riders are encouraged to use the docks, which are simple to operate via a mobile phone app.

Pashley’s aim is to enable more people to cycle, whether it’s commuting or for leisure, as chairman Adrian Williams says: “By developing smarter technology, we can develop smarter schemes. Giving the ‘brains’ to the bikes means that docking stations become more flexible and can be provided at lower cost. It also supports sustainable transport, enabling more people to access and enjoy the benefits of cycling.

“For Pashley, having our own full bike share solution for 2024 opens up new opportunities for us in this market, particularly in the private sector, where we have seen a surge in interest from residential quarters and corporate fleets.

“Smart communications technology provides us with opportunities to grow and make the management of thousands of daily journeys on public hire bikes accurate and more efficient.”

Pashley entered the bike share sector in 2017 when it won the contract to design and manufacture the new ‘Boris bike’.

Pashley’s British designed and manufactured fleet bike is now seen on the streets of both London and the West Midlands, with tens of thousands of trips made on them every day.

Williams added: “Many people know Pashley for our beautiful classic leisure bikes and are really surprised to hear about our products for business and the technology we are developing.

“But bicycles for business use have always been a big part of our success – from the butchers’ bikes of the 1920s to Royal Mail’s delivery fleet in the 1990s & 2000s.

“It’s very much rooted in our DNA, and whilst we are incredibly proud of our British heritage – and the fact we still hand-build every cycle at our factory in the Midlands – our innovation and technological developments show that we have our eyes firmly on our future success.”