Transport Briefing.co.uk: Cyclists offered subscription to city-wide bike lockers

Cyclists in Manchester have been invited to subscribe to a new service which allows them to use bicycle lockers at bus and railway stations and tram stops across Greater Manchester. The Bike Locker Users’ Club has been set up by Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive and gives cyclists access to more than 150 lockers at 30 locations across the county in return for a £10 membership fee.

Michael Renshaw, GMPTE’s interim service delivery director, said: “We came up with the idea of launching BLUC as a way of giving more people the chance to use the lockers at bus and train stations and Metrolink stops.

“We want to make it as easy as possible for passengers to be able to reach public transport services, and one way of doing that is by providing somewhere for them to leave their bikes. We’ve invested more than £30,000 on new bike lockers and stands, and I hope the new club will encourage people to bike and ride when using public transport.”

Passengers who join BLUC will be given a key to open any empty locker and will be able to keep their bike safe by putting their own padlock on a locker when it is in use. The BLUC scheme was piloted in Stockport in 2005 and was highly commended in the Most Innovative Approach to Cycle-Rail Integration category at last year’s National Cycle-Rail Awards.

The county-wide launch of the club coincides with Bike Week - the UK’s annual celebration of cycling, which takes place between 16 and 24 June. At least 250,000 cyclists are expected to take part in more than 1,500 local events.