Subsidised e-cycles available for Luton residents following pilot project
Subsidised e-cycles available for Luton residents after more than 8,000 people were given the chance to try them out for free.
The project, which was run by national cycling charity Cycling UK, gave adults the chance to loan e-cycles for one month.
It was launched in 2022 and since then 8,560 people have tried the e-bikes for free, while 1,205 free e-cycle loans were made.
The last e-bikes were loaned out at the end of February, to enable March to be spent managing returns of one-month loans and the servicing of the e-bikes.
And from the start of April, Luton residents have been able to buy an e-cycle as part of Luton Borough Council’s subsidy project.
The models are subject to availability and will be offered to previous participants to purchase, before being sold to members of the public, with sales concluding by the end of June.
Among those to benefit from the e-bike trial scheme were Mr Alom, 35, from Luton, who was travelling on his mobility scooter when a car collided with him.
Mr Alom, who was working as an auditor, suffered serious injuries, including a bleed on the brain, with doctors deeming him physically unfit to drive and suspending his licence for a year.
“After my accident I lost so much more than my licence - I lost my confidence and my independence,” Mr Alom said.
“The injuries were painful and after a few weeks, physical and mental fatigue had already begun to creep in. I found myself becoming more and more isolated, but the e-cycle loan changed all of that.
“For the first time in a long time I could get out, move freely and see people that lived a little further afield. It saved me money on transport at a time when I had very little of it.
“It helped my mental health by getting me out and about and gave me my freedom and independence back.
“It's honestly been life-changing and without this loan I feel like my recovery would have been far more challenging.”
The e-cycle pilot project was originally launched in 2022 in Luton & Dunstable, Manchester, Sheffield and Leicester, and funded for the first two years by Active Travel England.
Director of behaviour change and development at Cycling UK James Scott said: “It’s been hugely rewarding to bring this ground-breaking programme to Luton and Dunstable over the last four years.
“We’ve seen people really take to it and keep coming back and extending their loans, experiencing the joy and all the tangible benefits that cycling can bring - from saving money to feeling better physically and mentally.”
A sale day where you can view, test ride and purchase e-bikes on the same day is taking place on Tuesday April 28 at Luton Borough Council’s Kingsway Depot offices between 10am and 2pm.