Hundreds more yellow scan-and-ride bikes for Sheffield THIS WEEK after 'fantastic' uptake

Around 30,000 trips have been made since Ofo introduced the dockless bikes in Sheffield at the beginning of the year, with more than 6,000 different people taking to the saddle.

The Star recently revealed how the firm planned to roll out hundreds more bikes by this summer in response to the demand.

But Ofo today revealed another 300 would be introduced this week.

The announcement came as the firm revealed how the latest statistics showed more than 28,000 trips had been made in the city in just over a month, between January 9 and February 11.

More than 6,200 people had made at least one journey during that time, with the average length being 1.4km and the average duration 14 minutes.

The figures suggest the bikes are growing in popularity, with just over 13,200 trips made between January 9 and the end of that month, compared with more than 15,000 in the first 11 days of February.

Sheffield was the first northern city to get Ofo bikes, which had already been introduced in Cambridge, Oxford, London and Norwich, and are used by around 200 million people in 21 countries across the world.

The distinctive yellow bikes, which cost 50p per half-hour to hire, have proved most popular with students so far, the data suggests.

The top destinations are all within the city centre but the suburbs of Broomhill, Nether Edge and Walkley are also popular end-points.

Councillor Jack Scott, Sheffield Council's cabinet member for transport, said: "I am delighted with the impact that Ofo is having on the way our residents make their short journeys across Sheffield.

"We have approved a new wave of bikes to be introduced to the city and will continue to work with Ofo to ensure the bike scheme goes from strength to strength and continues to be a vibrant addition to the city's sustainable transport offer."

SHEFFIELD'S OFO BIKES IN NUMBERS

* Total trips made up to February 11: 28,354

* Total trips during January: 13,232

* Total made between February 1 and 11: 15,041

* Total users: 6,220

* Average distance per trip: 1.4 km

* Average trip duration: 14 minutes

* Average number of journeys made between 3pm and 5pm each day: 1,100