A NEW bike hire scheme is coming to Trafford next year – and leaders say lessons have been learned from the unsuccessful Mobike rollout.

Around 1,500 bicycles will be made available for the first phase of the project, which will cost £10 million to launch in spring 2021.

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority is hoping that it will prove to be a hit amongst students and commuters, as well as those living in disadvantaged communities.

The entire fleet, which will include e-bikes, will be docked in a bid to make them more secure than their Mobike predecessors.

In 2018, Manchester became the first city in the world to have the service withdrawn by the Chinese bike-sharing giant after some of their dockless bikes were stolen or badly damaged.

But Trafford, together with Manchester and Salford, will trial the new scheme. The areas were chosen due to their “large student population, high numbers of visitors" among other factors.

A GMCA report said: “Over the past five years, several independent studies and practical demonstrations have confirmed that there is a demand for a public bike share scheme in Greater Manchester.

“The service would support first mile/last mile journeys by fixed public transport modes, and, in successful schemes around the world, such services complement tram, bus and rail networks.

“Officers have expressed concerns to ensure the scheme supports wider ambitions in the regional centre, such as pedestrianisation and should assist in getting people to work and in linking to residential areas.”