Hi-Bike Fort William has announced that three new e-bike charging hubs are now available throughout Fort William.
The new hubs are located at the Blar Mhor housing, in Upper Achintore and at the Glen Nevis campsite.
Other docking stations are spread throughout Fort William as well as surrounding areas including Inverlochy, Caol and Corpach.
Hi-Bike is owned and run by Canadian company, Bewegen.
Earlier this year, Bewegen announced it is going through financial difficulties.
In January 2023, Fort William’s e-bikes were temporarily removed as a safety precaution due to ‘a reduction in maintenance capacity’.
However, e-bikes have since been redistributed back to Fort William and the three new charging hubs were installed as planned.
Lochaber Environmental Group (LEG) is not responsible for the daily operation of the system. However, it has championed the e-bike program since the beginning.
Bewegen was contracted by LEG to bring the e-bike scheme to Lochaber, which launched in April 2022.
Fort William’s e-bikes have covered almost 30,000 miles in a year
Active travel project officer of LEG, Ruth Gilmore, says the board is “very pleased” to see the opening of the new charging hubs.
“We are sure the locations of the new hubs will encourage even more people to get around Greater Fort William and the surrounding area by e-bike.”
Fort William’s e-bikes have covered more than 29,500 miles on over 9,200 journeys since the scheme was launched last year.
“That’s a lot of car-free travel” she says.
According to LEG, Bewegen is continuing to work with all Scottish e-bike schemes it has contracts with.
It is hoped it will find a solution for the long-term operation of the schemes by working together.
LEG confirms that until a new contract is in place, the overall responsibility for Hi-Bikes and Hi-Bike equipment remains with Bewegen.
Ruth says: “LEG staff are temporarily helping to re-balance e-bikes and address immediate issues on the ground.”
Glen Nevis Holidays director John Cameron says: “We’re thrilled to be able to host one of the Hi-Bike charging hubs on our campsite, and extend the reach of this fantastic scheme into Glen Nevis.”
“On behalf of our guests, team and residents of Glen Nevis, we want to extend a big thank you to Lochaber Environmental Group for all its hard work in bringing Hi-Bikes to Fort William.”