A company set to run a scheme designed to get more people in Barnet cycling has pulled out of three London boroughs.

Urbo, the preferred partner for Barnet’s dockless pool bikes scheme, has announced it will no longer provide services in Enfield, Waltham Forest and Redbridge as the boroughs are “no longer suited” to its business model.

The announcement came just days after Barnet Council decided to press ahead with the dockless bike programme at a meeting of the environment committee on June 5.

Posted on June 8, it states: “We regret to inform you that from the 4th of July 2018, Urbo will no longer be providing shared bike services in the London boroughs of Enfield, Waltham Forest and Redbridge due to these locations no longer being suited to our business model. Our service will continue to run in all other locations.

“We would like to thank all of you who have supported Urbo and we hope to be able to offer services within these areas again in the future.”

According to the dockless pool bikes report, the council selected Irish firm Urbo partly due to its “proven good track record with other London boroughs”.

Other reasons cited were that it provides value for money with low-cost technology, has user-friendly bikes and uses app-based technology.

The technology provided by Urbo allows users to ‘unlock’ bikes using a mobile app and then leave them in a designated area at the end of their journey.

Under the scheme, at least 100 bikes will be deployed across the borough at hubs near transport links, shopping centres and other areas where demand is high.

Depending on its popularity, another 200 bikes could be provided during the two-year pilot.

A Barnet Council spokesperson said: “We are of aware the latest situation concerning Urbo. 

While Urbo was our preferred delivery partner, we remain confident that we can still progress the pilot scheme with an alternative provider that will deliver the same benefits for residents.”