BELFAST'S new bike share scheme performed better than London and Glasgow in its first few days of operation.
Three hundred bicycles have been made available for hire at 30 docking stations around the city centre since April 27.
Organisers said during its first three days, the Belfast scheme performed 15 per cent better than London and 10 per cent better than Glasgow, with each bike rented an average of 1.37 times per day.
The busiest days were last Thursday and Friday with around 750 hires on each day.
Last weekend's wet weather saw a dip in users.
However, rentals surged again on bank holiday Monday, the day of the Belfast City Marathon.
Several runners were even spotted using a Belfast Bike to cycle to the start line.
A city council spokeswoman said: "You would expect a dip in cyclists taking to the road in the rain, but as one of our users tweeted 'it’s better to cycle in the rain for three minutes than to walk in the rain for 10'.
"Or it may have simply been a case of avoiding a soggy bottom - either way, come the extra day's holiday, those on Belfast Bikes who showed their support to the marathon runners certainly helped show how healthy Belfast is."
It costs £20 a year to register with the bike scheme, giving a half-hour free use before further charges apply.
