18 local authorities secure funding for e-cargo bikes

Eighteen local authorities in England have secured funding from the Department for Transport's £2m eCargo Bike Grant Fund, which will enable them to purchase e-cargo bikes for either local businesses or for use within their own fleets

The Department for Transport's £2m e-Cargo Bike Grant Fund was established to help councils and companies to replace their polluting vans with ecargo bikes.

Eighteen local authorities in England have secured the funding, which will enable them to purchase ecargo bikes for either local business use or for use within their own fleets.

One of the successful applicants was Cambridgeshire County Council, who plans to deploy 30 ecargo bikes across four initiatives in Cambridge. These cover first mile deliveries, a residential sharing scheme, a ‘try before you buy’ leasing scheme and pool ecargo bikes.

Devon County Council’s work will encourage the uptake of ecargo bikes across partner organisations to support sustainable active business travel as an alternative to car and van use. Thirteen ecargo bikes will be used to support Exeter’s ambition for net zero service with two of the total used by the local hospital’s adult and social care teams to help care for the most isolated people in the city.

Chris Heaton-Harris, Cycling Minister, said: “eCargo bikes are great for not only business but also the environment, helping to lower costs and emissions.

“This funding will see groceries and other shopping delivered to people’s doors by bike instead of vans, helping ensure that as transport increases and we recover from Covid-19, it’ll be cleaner and greener than ever before.”

The eighteen councils that received funding are: Bath and North East Somerset Council; Bedford Borough Council; Birmingham City Council; Brighton and Hove City Council; Cambridgeshire County Council; Colchester Borough Council; Derby City Council; Devon County Council; Harlow and Gilston Garden Town; London Borough of Richmond; London Borough of Wandsworth; Milton Keynes Council; North Tyneside Council; Nottingham City Council; Plymouth City Council; Sheffield City Council; Southampton City Council; and Wirral Council.