The town of Northampton is the latest to sign up to Britain’s bike-hire boom.

The newly named ‘Cycle CoNNect’ scheme, riffing on the area’s NN postcode, starts operation in May. The £150,000 scheme is initially providing 50 bicycles for public hire from 10 docking stations around the town, including the town centre, Brackmills Industrial Estate and the main University campuses.

Michael Clarke, county council cabinet member for transport, said: “As a county council we’re very keen to encourage sustainable forms of transport and this can be a challenge particularly in the current financial climate. However, this relatively low-cost scheme is a clever way of encouraging people to discover the advantages of pedal power.”

How it works

Users will need to register as a member of the scheme for free, either online or over the phone. Once you are signed up as a member, you will receive a membership number and PIN. Key in your membership number and PIN at any of the docking stations and select a bike to rent. The bicycle will be released from the electronic locking system for you to cycle away. You can return the bike to any docking station, not just the one you rented it from. Each docking station will display a map of the immediate vicinity and show where the nearest docking stations in the area.

As with most similar schemes, the first 30 minutes of each rental is free of charge. The bikes will cost £1 per hour to rent, capped at £4 per day. If the docking station is full or faulty, you can lock the bike to it using the combination lock attached to the bike, and call Cycle CoNNect to end your hire period.