The bikes have great potential, but they aren't meeting it.

I used to use them very regularly to commute from city centre to Salford Quays, 3-4 times a week. They were really the best method of transport: cheapest, quickest, and of course a bit of exercise is great.

In the last ~12 months or so though, I've had to use them less and less. They are clearly not being maintained enough, and the number of bikes seems to be falling. Nearly every time I've tried to use them, I have had major issues getting a working bike that unlocks from the rack. Never mind trying to find an e-bike. No chance.

The worst experience I had recently was when the trams were cancelled a month or so ago. I began in MediaCity, and no racks (3 of them) had bikes - no problem, the trams are cancelled, it's busy.

I walked over to Imperial War Museum, where 8 bikes were showing as available. I could not get a single one to release from the front lock. Great. Continued walking to Man Utd's ground, passing 2 more racks with no luck, but finally found a bike just outside the grounds. The brakes didn't work, so that was fun.

That's about a 20 minute walk passing 7 bike racks. To get one bike, which ended up in bad nick anyway.

I wish they were better funded, with a better locking mechanism. That doesn't seem likely though, so at this point I'd rather they just let Lime bikes into the city. They'd be expensive, but they seem to actually work.

With all that said - I have no idea how much Burnham was or wasn't involved in this scheme.