If you live on the channel island of Jersey and you're after an electric bike, then good news: the Jersey government has implemented an electric bike subsidy scheme which means you can get £300 off the cost of a new e-bike from retailers across the island.
“We know from consultation that one of the key barriers to cycling is Jersey’s hills," said Deputy Eddie Noel, Minister for the Jersey's Department for Infrastructure. "E bikes make cycling easy as well as providing a means of active travel. The aim of the car2cycle scheme is to influence a change in behaviours from car use and by providing a discount to the cost of purchasing an E bike we hope that more people will take up cycling, particularly those who may be less active or have a steep hill to tackle getting home!”
The scheme is pretty straightforward: you just need to complete a form and take that, plus photo ID, to a Government office. You get a voucher which can be redeemed against the cost of a new electric bike from one of 12 bike shops across the island. Full details of the scheme, plus a list of participating stores, are available on the Jersey Government website. There's free training available as well for anyone unfamiliar with riding an electric bike.
Electric bikes are being promoted on Jersey as an alternative not just to cars for personal travel, but also for businesses. One of the organisations to get behind e-bikes is the Jersey Post newspaper. After trialling two electric bikes the newspaper has ordered a further 20, with help from the new scheme, to be used on delivery rounds. Andy Jehan, Director of Operations at Jersey Post, said “These bikes have greater carrying capacity than the traditional cycle and make it much easier for staff to get to and from their delivery routes. With the support of the DfI scheme we will be able to deploy these new cycles rather than increasing the size of our vehicle fleet.”
They're popular with the delivery staff too. Simon Law, postal worker at Jersey Post said, “The new bikes are great. On days with a full, heavy postal round to deliver, we sometimes have to get off and push the bikes up hills because it’s just too steep and it can be a bit dangerous on bends. The new bikes mean we can get up the hills more quickly as well as more safely.”
