Concerns have been raised over the lack of docking systemJeff Kearns

A bike-sharing scheme set to be deployed in Cambridge has been delayed by Cambridge City Council after concerns about the logistics of the initiative. The company responsible for the scheme still insists, however, that a trial period with 20 bikes will launch "in a matter of weeks".

The scheme, designed by Chinese company Ofo and originally set to start in March, would allow users to hire bikes through an Uber-style smartphone app. The self-standing yellow bikes can be dropped off and picked up from publicly accessible locations, with each trip estimated to cost under £1. Around 400 bikes were meant to be deployed to Cambridge.

However, the scheme is ‘dockless’ meaning that bikes can be left around anywhere around the city, unlike the Santander Cycles scheme in London, where bikes must be returned to a docking station.

There are fears that the scheme could therefore lead to congestion of streets and bike parking areas, or vandals dumping bikes in the river. The bikes are also not fitted with lights, which are a legal requirement at nighttime in Cambridge.

In a statement to the Cambridge Independent, a Cambridge city council spokesperson said that they were worried about the potential issues that could be caused by the scheme “such as poorly parked scheme bikes cluttering our streets and pavements and causing a nuisance and obstruction to pedestrians and other cyclists.”

These concerns led to a council meeting with representatives from Ofo about the scheme. The council have stated that they want to work with Ofo to ensure that these issues are considered before the initiative is operational.

However, a spokesman from Ofo told Cambridge News that "in a matter of weeks" there is to be an initial trial period: “Ofo will be trialling 20 bicycles in Cambridge for three weeks following launch and the number of bikes that are then rolled out and the speed at which they're rolled out will be influenced by the reaction of local residents, customers and the council.”

The council spokesperson added that the council asked Ofo for more information to allow them to review whether the company can logistically manage such a scheme.

According to the council spokesperson “there is currently no legislation in place to control how public bike schemes, such as Ofo’s, operate in the UK”.

This action also follows concerns from Camcycle, a charity which aims for increased, safer cycling in the Cambridge area. In a press statement last month, they said that they “fear that vandals may pick up parked bikes and dump them where it will cause problems- for example in the river.”

They also stated the potential problem of the bikes not being fitted with lights: “As lights are a legal requirement on cycles in the hours of darkness, not fitting these bikes with lights would be irresponsible of Ofo.”

The charity also highlighted concerns about congestion in the city centre, saying the dockless system could “put further pressure on the already problematic cycle-parking situation in the city centre.”

Despite this set back the council said that they “will continue to look for ways to increase cycle parking in the city centre to cater for both existing demand and potential demand generated from such public bike schemes.”