A grab-and-go bike scheme that has taken off in Paris should be piloted in Glasgow, said the city's new director of public health.

Dr Linda de Caestecker, of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, is keen to adopt the initiative in which thousands of bicycles are available to commuters for a nominal fee in street-side racks.

She suggested adopting the scheme in her first annual report since taking over the high-profile role.

Dr de Caestecker said: "Paris was a community that relied on their cars a lot. That is something we want to try to reduce, so why not experiment with it and see if people accept it?"

In July, Paris joined a number of cities, including Barcelona and Copenhagen, by providing thousands of cheap bikes for people to use to travel around the city.

Despite scepticism from a number of quarters, including taxi drivers, the initiative has been well received. In the first three weeks there were 1.2 million hires. On average each bike is used six times a day.

Dr de Caestecker said: "It is not something we have agreed with the local authorities, so that discussion still needs to go on, but let's learn from other places.

"The two imperatives of creating a sustainable society and improving health through increased physical activity come together in this one."

A number of initiatives to encourage cycling have already launched in Glasgow.

Last year a student began offering bikes for free from the basement of a building at Glasgow School of Art. There are also projects offering free bikes to schoolchildren.

In Inverness, a scheme called Re-cycle, using abandoned bikes unclaimed from the police, began last month.

The machines are available from a car park, allowing people from the Highlands to park and pedal to work.

Jim McCreath, training and development officer for Inverness and Nairn Transport Forum, said around 10 bikes were taken every morning and on car free day' in September there was a 50% increase in the number of cyclists on the streets. "The Ness Bridge at 7.30am looked like Amsterdam," he said.

Dr de Caestecker admitted the congestion in Glasgow would make it more difficult to encourage people to cycle and said increasing the number of cycle lanes is something the health board has already discussed with the city council.

She added: "There is only a small percentage of people who are willing to cycle in the heavy traffic because of safety and it is not easy to solve that. Countries that have done it, like Denmark, have much wider streets and are able to support wider cycle lanes. That is more difficult in Glasgow but that is not to say we should say it is too hard."

Patrick Harvie, Green MSP, said the idea was "terrific" but warned the scheme would have to be about more than providing racks of bikes. He said the environment would have to change with more traffic calming and street lighting to make cyclists feel safe.

Mr Harvie said: "I see it every day when I am on the bus - cyclists having the least amount of respect of any group of road users. So if you are going to encourage more people to start using a bike you need to give them respect and physical space."

Councillor Ruth Simpson, Glasgow City Council's executive member for land and environmental services, said: "We want to see many more Glaswegians get on their bikes and work their way to a healthier and less congested city. We would welcome any proposal which can help improve the health and well-being of our citizens including cycling in a safe, supported environment."

Swipe the card and pedal off

  • The scheme in Paris is called Velib, combining the words for bicycle and freedom.
  • When it was launched in July, 10,000 heavy-duty bikes were made available from 750 stands across the city. There are plans to double this number by the end of the year.
  • Users just have to swipe the same travel card used for public transport in the city to take a bike.
  • It costs one euro (69p) for the first half-hour and 29 euros (£20) to subscribe for a year.
  • When stands at stations were stripped in the mornings, some commuters illegally padlocked bikes in advance to guarantee their ride.
  • There have been reports of bikes collecting in racks at the bottom of hills as commuters freewheel down but take public transport up sloping streets.
  • In the first weeks 50 bikes were torn from their moorings and 180 were vandalised.
  • Police said more than 25 Velib cyclists were injured in accidents with motorists this summer.
  • However, the scheme has generally been applauded, even by some of Paris's notoriously competitive drivers. A report by a Tory policy group has already recommended it for London.