e-cycles
We have secured £59,835, from the Department Transport’s ECycle Extension Fund to deliver five schemes that will give people first-hand experience of using an e-cycle, the skills to maintain one, and the confidence that they can be safely stored.
Through the bid we are delivering:
- an e-cycle loan scheme operated through Bikespace, based in Devonport.
- a small number of complementary courtesy e-cycles, in partnership with three local bike shops (Complete Cycle Works, Rockets and Rascals and Bikespace), so that customers have the opportunity to try one while their conventional bike is serviced
- the addition of an e-cycle to the Plymotion Personalised Travel Planning programme to allow our Plymotion Travel Advisors to take one to roadshows providing an opportunity for people to try one
- dedicated e-cycle maintenance courses and open access workshop sessions to give people who have an e-cycle the confidence and ability to service and maintain the bicycle, thereby reducing the costs of ownership, recognising the outcome of the DfT-funded CoMoUK project which reported that maintenance and repair were found to be one of the top three barriers to e-cycle use
- six secure, strategically located, cycle lockers, of a suitable size to accommodate an e-cycle, extending Plymouth’s provision of secure bike lockers, recently significantly increased through the DfT’s Emergency Active Travel Fund scheme, tackling concerns around e-cycle security. Locker rentals are arranged through BikeAway.
Our bid is available to download below, along with a supporting value for money statement.
E-Cargo Bike Grant Fund
The Council secured £123,500 from the Department for Transport’s e-cargo Bike Grant Fund, administered by the Energy Saving Trust, as part of a £136,500 investment in e-cargo bikes for Plymouth.
The grant has enabled 27 e-cargo bikes introduced and e-cargo trailers to be brought into use across 22 businesses, including the Council, with each company being awarded up to £4,750 towards the cost of a bike.
Please find below details of the participating companies and how they are using their e-cargo bike. If the case studies inspire you and you think your business would benefit from an e-cargo bike why not try out Plymotion’s free eCargo bike loan scheme or consider applying to the Council's Workplace Travel Grant for funding towards the cost of e-cargo bikes for your business or other investments to enable you and your staff to travel sustainably.
- Pollenize CIC are using their e-cargo bikes to perform urban beekeeping inspections across the city
- Bikespace CIC are using their e-cargo bike as a mobile workshop to use at events and for servicing and repairs when working off site
- Billy Ruffian's Brew Company CBS are a community brewery and are using their e-cargo bike to manage their bread supply chain
- Flint and Steel Forest School already had one electric bike and are using their e-cargo bike to provide forest school sessions across Plymouth without needing to use cars at all
- Fotonow CIC will use their e-cargo bike to carry camera equipment, forming part of their climate emergency response
- Lane and Lane Developments are using their e-cargo bike to carry out surveys, projects and meetings within the city boundaries where parking can be an issue
- Marjon University are using their e-cargo bike to support onsite and offsite teaching activities, for example transporting equipment for outdoor learning, as well as for collecting purchases in Plymouth
- No Whey! CIC are using their e-cargo bike as a means to sell food to people in the community, creating a heated cargo compartment that will keep food at a safe temperature in order for them to be able to ride the food to where it is needed
- Snapdragons CIC are using their e-cargo bike to make deliveries to service users who may not otherwise be able to participate in their projects
- Plymouth School Sports Partnership are using their e-cargo bike to transport equipment to cycle coaching sessions
- Dom Moore Photography are using their e-cargo bike to deliver photographic services across the city and the wider area to reduce the amount of vehicles on the city roads
- The Canteen at Maker are using their e-cargo bike to replace a car for local deliveries and collections of some of their produce
- Mutant Labs previously trialled an e-cargo bike and want to be ambassadors for the bikes in Plymouth
- Rockets and Rascals are using their e-cargo bike to move deliveries between the city centre and suburban locations, removing at least one diesel powered vehicle from Plymouth’s streets
- Royal Adelaide Arts and Yoga are using their e-cargo bike, in liaison with Plymouth-based artists, to collect and deliver artwork for exhibitions and equipment for workshops and classes as well as designing a ‘shop’ that will fit into the cargo box on the bike for use at markets and festivals throughout Plymouth
- Secure Outdoor Storage are using their bikes for a range of purposes including the collection of supplies and transporting tools needed for site maintenance
- University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust are using the e-cargo bike to undertake short distance deliveries between buildings and sites
- MVP Property Maintenance and Cleaning are using their e-cargo bike on journeys within 4-5 miles of our central base which covers 90% of journeys made
- Brook Green Centre for Learning are striving to decrease their carbon footprint and promote healthy and active lifestyles for all. They see e-cargo bikes as having an important role in urban deliveries¸ generating zero emissions and contributing to improved air quality
- Jasper LM Ltd hope the bike will allow them to virtually eliminate short journeys in their diesel van
- Mayflower Marina (Sailport PLC) are providing their e-cargo bike to visitors to access local supermarkets, without the need to use a taxi
- Plymouth City Council are using their e-cargo bikes to deliver events, support community activities and site visits, as part of the Green Minds Project and sustainable transport programmes, as well as part of the beat operations of Parking Services.