Lebanon looks to keep moving with Beirut bike-hire scheme

The scheme aims to eventually allow users to rent and return bicycles at 25 automated stations distributed across the city.

For now, a single station is operating in the swanky Beirut downtown area.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri officially inaugurated the scheme, participating in a bike ride and pledging to organise car-free days to prioritise cycling in the city.

The scheme will charge around three US dollars an hour for bike rental, with monthly subscribers paying a lower rate.

The bike programme has already started in the northern city of Byblos, and there are plans to expand it to other coastal cities, including Tripoli and Batroun in the north, and Sidon and Tyre in Lebanon's south.

See the scheme in pictures

By 2020, the project planners aim to have 500 bikes in operation, with a cashless payment system in place.

Around half a million cars clog Beirut's streets on a daily basis, according to experts, causing enormous traffic jams and contributing to air pollution.

But only a handful of cyclists brave the roads, where drivers regularly ignore traffic signals and lanes are virtually an unknown concept.

A new bike lane laid less than a week ago in downtown Beirut saw some cars driving over it – and some cars even parked on it.

Agencies contributed to this report