A bike-hire scheme has been dismissed for Brighton and Hove because it is too hilly.

Ian Davey, the city council’s transport committee chairman, ruled out a Boris Bikes style initiative due to costs.

Among the issues highlighted were the running costs of a bike-hire scheme.

In theory, cyclists can pick up a bike at one point in the city and leave it at another point in the city at the end of their journey.

However there are fears people would be more inclined to use the bikes to travel down the city’s hills but not want to ride back up.

It means staff and a van would be needed to regularly redistribute the bikes to the more popular pick up points in the city.

Added to the initial start- up costs of the scheme, Coun Davey believed, while he would welcome an initiative in the city, it was simply not practical at the moment.

He said: “These schemes are not cheap to run. “Our emphasis has been on making Brighton and Hove a city safe for cycling and creating the right environment for more people to use a bike.

“Schemes such as these come forward but we already have shops in the city which hire bikes.”

He added plans like the 20mph scheme were creating “the right conditions for many people to cycle” and that was a better use of resources.

Some of the city’s most recent bike schemes have come under fire such as the Old Shoreham Road cycle lane and the redevelop- ment of L e w e s Road.

The city ’s Tory party initially backed a Boris Bikes scheme when they were in power but were voted out before it could be introduced.

Worthing however is considering its own Boris Bikes.

Council leader Paul Yallop said he believed a bike- hire scheme could revive the town because it was “very flat”.
 

Coun Yallop said he was keen to see what people thought of the idea which could require business sponsorship to get off the ground – such as the Barclays part- nership with the London bikes.

Coun Yallop said: “The high street and the town centres need to reinvent themselves with what they’ve been through over the past few years.

“Perhaps this is another idea where we can make Worthing a more vibrant place. “There could be a lot of people that would like to take advantage of a scheme like this.”