AN Oxford-based bike hire company has welcomed a potential code of conduct which its authors hope will mean a high standard of shared cycles in the city.

Oxford City Council, Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford University want to finalise arrangements on the code, which will aim to ensure dockless hire bikes placed around the city meet high standards.

It comes as two bike hire companies expressed an interest in expanding into Oxford.

Cycle.land, which was set up in Oxford last year, is a ‘peer-to-peer social marketplace’ where users can find bikes to share and borrow and has extended its services to Cambridge and Edinburgh.

It wants to launch in five more UK cities and also has bikes in Lithuania, China, Germany and Canada.

It is supported by Oxford University’s Innovation Incubator and Cambridge Social Ventures, which is based at the Cambridge Judge Business School.

Cycle.land’s chief executive and co-founder Agne Milukaite said: “I believe that all bike sharing companies are working towards the same goal – to get more people on bikes, which is good for air quality, health and general happiness.

"Cycle.land has seen impressive growth this year in the use of shared bikes and I believe the city can become more like Copenhagen and Amsterdam where the majority of trips are done on bikes.”

Cycle.land’s chief operating officer and co-founder Peter Ebsen said: “Cycle.land is eager to make a positive contribution to sustainable transport in Oxford.

"I was trained as a regulatory lawyer and I used my lawyer skills to draft the code of conduct.

“In Oxford there is already a variety of bike rental and bike sharing.

"Besides Cycle.land bike sharing, there are Brompton bikes, Oxonbikes, Bainton bikes and a variety of bike shops.

"I believe that well managed dockless bike sharing could be a welcome addition to the already existing options that will allow residents and visitors to choose the bike that addresses their needs best.

"The code of conduct aims to help the Oxford community to achieve that.”

The city council’s cycling champion, councillor Louise Upton, said the code of conduct would look to ensure a high standard of hire bikes around the city.

It is understood the city council and county council would also seek the Oxford living wage to be paid to all of the bike hire companies operating here.

Chinese dockless bike company Ofo has already said it wants to expand into Oxford. Last week oBike also confirmed it was interested in setting up here.