Why is Sheffield soft-pedalling on bike hire?

Good afternoon — and welcome to Thursday’s Tribune.

Go to any other city in the UK and you’ll see dozens of them. Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool and even Nottingham have widely used bike hire schemes available for people to pick up and use whenever they want. However, since 1,000 yellow Ofo bikes were rolled out and quickly withdrawn in the city six years ago, Sheffield Council haven’t managed to find another company willing to give us a try. So what are the reasons Sheffield is slow pedalling on bike hire? Is it fears over vandalism, the city’s vertiginous hills, or something else?

Editor’s note: Thanks for bearing with us while Dan has been out of action. Today’s piece is the story he was in the process of writing when he had his accident, which he’s managed to finish off while working from home. When we said The Tribune liked to go above and beyond for our stories we didn't necessarily mean two days in hospital and a brand new hip, but there we are. If you want to read today’s piece in full and get all the benefits of membership (including two extra newsletters a week and invitations to members’ events) join up today using the button above.

Your Tribune briefing

🌳 The Sheffield Green Party should have a new candidate for the Sheffield Central constituency by this weekend after the party reran its selection process. Current candidate Alison Teal has been suspended for the last 19 months after she expressed “gender critical” views said by some to be at odds with Green Party policy. At a fresh hustings on Wednesday evening, local party members heard arguments that Teal should be reinstated as candidate, but these were ultimately rejected. Members now have a choice between former councillor Rob Murphy, current councillor Angela Argenzio, Colin McCulloch and Ammar Aldaker, with the result due on Saturday. Members could also vote to reject the new process and reopen nominations. However, if that were to happen the party would find itself in a huge dilemma with no obvious solution.

🗳️ Now Then report that two people were stopped from voting in Beighton in the recent local elections — the same number of votes the Lib Dems won the seat by after a recount. In total almost 200 people were stopped from casting their votes across Sheffield due to new rules which state people must take valid identification to polling stations. The changes were introduced by the government last year despite there being little evidence voter fraud is a serious problem.

🎭 Sheffield has been announced as the new home of English Touring Opera as part of a programme to move arts bodies out of London. ETO already has existing links and a strong audience in the city built through its regular visits to the Lyceum. The initial move will be to a temporary office base, to be completed by October 2024, before a permanent move in spring 2025. Shows will continue to rehearse and open in London until the spring 2026 season.

Things to do

🎧 As we mentioned on Wednesday, this weekend sees the first Crossed Wires podcast festival arrive in Sheffield. Loads of huge names will perform over the weekend including Jon Ronson, Katherine Ryan and Adam Buxton (in conversation with Self Esteem no less). And there will also be a full programme of free fringe events including BBC Radio Sheffield’s Football Heaven show (featuring Steve Bracknall), and the award-winning Naked Podcast.

🏳️‍🌈 This Saturday, Sheffield will finally get a Pride back, six years after the previous festival collapsed in acrimony. Kelham Pride will take place at ten venues all across Kelham Island and Neepsend including Peddler, Yellow Arch and Alder Bar. All venues are completely free to attend and the event runs from 12pm until late. A Pride parade will take place from 1pm, starting from Kelham Island Museum and ending at the Main Stage on Burton Road.

🖼️ The Cultural Industries Quarter has some of the most exciting street art and large scale murals Sheffield has to offer. On Sunday, join Andy, the founder of Street Art Sheffield, on a guided tour of the area. On the tour you’ll discover the murals and hidden gems to be found in the CIC, as well as learning about the stories of past artworks. The tours take between one and two hours and cost £7.50 each. Meet at Pinball Park on Brown Street at 11am.

Why is Sheffield soft-pedalling on bike hire?

I’d been riding around Sheffield on my hired e-bike for just over two hours, but had already fallen in love. I’d set myself a challenge — to ride up the steepest hills in the city — and the trusty Raleigh Motus had made light work of them all. Blake Street in Upperthorpe, famously the steepest road in a city full of very steep roads, posed the most serious challenge, but I still managed it with relative ease. A final quick trip up the slow, steady climb of East Bank Road proved a doddle by comparison. I was just five minutes from home.

Manor Top was where my e-bike honeymoon ended. Coming down City Road, my front tyre caught one of the tram tracks, which had been made slippery by a recent shower. As the bike lurched sideways, I tried to control it. But it was no good. I didn’t know I was hurt until I got up and my left leg felt like it belonged to someone else. Crawling to the side of the road, a friendly face appeared. “Are you OK?” said one of my fellow residents at Park Hill. “I think I need an ambulance,” I replied.