MORE than 9,000 residents have registered for Brighton’s bike share scheme in its first month.

There were an average of 800 journeys a day on the Life Bikes in the first 30 days.

Users have cycled 50,000 miles so far – almost a quarter of the way to the moon or more than twice around the world.

The BTN BikeShare scheme involves 450 bikes and is the first in Britain to combine docking station and dock-less locking technology.

Tim Caswell, owner of Hourbike, the company operating the project, said: “We came in knowing Brighton and Hove is a unique city with a strong cycling culture but still the usage figures are even better than we could have imagined.

“None of our other schemes across UK and Europe have had such a strong first month.”

He said that the user figures for the first month were encouraging and it suggests the city is set to be a “top-performing bike share scheme” for the UK.

Residents and visitors can hire and locate the Life Bikes via the SoBi app.

A casual rental plan, priced at 3p per minute (£1 minimum spend) is suitable for occasional riding.

More frequent users may prefer an annual membership which provides an hour of daily cycling for £72.

Councillor Gill Mitchell, chairwoman of the council’s environment, transport and sustainability committee, said: “It’s encouraging to hear that BTN Bike Share has had a successful first month and that the bikes are proving popular with both residents and visitors to the city.”

Brighton Station, Brighton Marina and the universities are among the latest docking stations to be installed.

A map of the live docking stations can be found at www.btnbikeshare.com

Hourbike has named the light-blue bicycles Life Bikes after sponsor Life Natural Spring Water.

There will be 450 available in parking bays dotted around the city centre with 35 ports already in place and another 15 to be completed by the end of the month.