Triple Olympic Gold Medallist and South Yorkshire Active Travel Commissioner, Ed Clancy OBE, visited Nottingham City Council to hear all about the new electric cargo (eCargo) bike scheme and to see some of the walking and cycling active travel infrastructure in the city.
During his visit, Ed met with members of the Transport Strategy team and the portfolio holder for Highways, Transport and Planning, Councillor Angela Kandola, while being shown the range of eCargo bikes available to businesses in Nottingham.
After a successful bid to the Energy Saving Trust, Nottingham City Council received £47.9k for 15 eCargo bikes. Some of the eCargo bikes will be used by Nottingham City Council to improve green operations.
Nottingham City Council is looking for businesses, social enterprises and charities to take part in the eCargo Bike Experience. Perfect for transporting cargo, equipment and materials from A to B, the eCargo bikes are available to trial for between 30 and 90 days. As zero-emission vehicles, the eCargo bikes have large storage spaces and an electric motor to help travel across the city.
eCargo bikes are increasingly popular across the UK and Europe, partly because of how they can help employees get active during the working day and improve wellbeing. The eCargo bikes can also help improve business profiles by visually demonstrating a commitment to sustainability.
Green Meadows, who work with local people to build a community to act together on climate change in The Meadows, will be trialling the new eCargo bikes to carry out visits in the community.
Community Engagement Officer at Green Meadows, Heather Hodkinson, said: “We’re very excited to try one of Nottingham City Council’s eCargo bikes for 90 days. As a climate-aware organisation, it will be great to use this eco-friendly way of travelling from house to house for our assessments. We can’t wait to make the community aware of this mode of transport.”
Triple Olympic Gold Medallist and South Yorkshire Active Travel Commissioner, Ed Clancy OBE, said: “It’s been great to see the eCargo bikes in Nottingham and visit a top rated city for active travel. For me, a big part of the future belongs to electric-assist active travel. It’s great that businesses are starting to become aware of the positive benefits of the eCargo bikes such as them being easy to park and being very cheap to run.”
Nottingham City Council’s Portfolio Holder for Highways, Transport and Planning, Councillor Angela Kandola, said: “I’m delighted that Ed was able to ride one of our eCargo bikes and see the benefits for local businesses. The eCargo bikes are an attractive low carbon transport option and offer impressive fuel cost savings while contributing to improved air quality. I’m looking forward to more businesses trialling the eCargo bikes.”