A FLEET of 300 dockless bikes is coming to Southampton.

The city’s first batch of YoBikes will see cyclists zipping around the city on the yellow aluminium alloy two-wheelers, which have been specially designed for ease of use and low cost maintenance.

Dubbed the “smart bike-sharing scheme” the bikes are locked and unlocked with a free mobile app and docked at any rack in the city.

With 25,000 registered users already making 1,500 journeys on 1,000 bikes around Bristol since May this year, and the scheme already running in Singapore, Germany and Ireland, company directors say it is “far exceeding” expectations.

A team of cycling mechanics are currently working round the clock to assemble the Chinese-made bikes in a factory in Twyford run by Shirley High Street bike shop owner Dave Munday, who has been chosen to manage the city scheme.

He said: “The bikes are incredibly robust. We’ll be releasing 60 a day until the initial target of 300 is reached.”

Working with staff from cycling charity Monty’s Bike Hub, who run repair workshops from their base in Shirley, Mr Munday and his team are responsible for maintaining the bikes, as well as retrieving them if pranksters leave them in unusual places.

But the latest generation of bikes have been retrofitted with extra cable locks, alarm deterrence and enhanced GPS tracking in a bid to deter vandals or stop them being damaged.

Hiring the bikes costs £1 for an hour, £5 capped for 24 hours, with the option of buying a one year subscription for £39, which gives the user two one-hour journeys a day.

But students and university staff get a discount of £29 if they sign up with a university email - and the scheme has been timed to coincide with the city’s 40,000 student population return.

Co-founder Michael Qian said: “Southampton is a vibrant city, ideal for getting around and discovering all it has to offer by bike.”

The app is available for download now.