Supporting Hero Key Workers With Free Bike Loans
As a charity, we are passionately focused on encouraging active travel.
If you haven’t heard that term before, ‘active travel’ refers to making a journey using your physical body (such as cycling and walking), rather than using motorised transport (such as a car).
Why do we care about active travel?
Firstly, it is much kinder to the environment and our planet as a whole. The more journeys we make via active travel, the less carbon emitted into the atmosphere, the healthier our planet becomes.
Additionally, active travel is great for the body and the mind. Cycling or walking releases endorphins (a natural chemical released during exercise which can make us feel happy), allows us to actively experience nature and our environment, and appreciate our surroundings. Our heart rates increase whilst riding a bike; we work different muscle groups, build up stamina, and burn fat.
Under normal circumstances, our Active Travel team have a fleet of bikes which they loan out to curious bicycle commuters – people who are interested in beginning to make their commute by two wheels instead of four. A large number of these people then go on to purchase a quality refurbished bicycle from our workshop, so that they can continue to develop their skills.
Since the outbreak of Covid-19, our community outreach activities have had to change dramatically. We had to think about how best we could support our community and continue acting within our values; whilst maintaining a social distance.
We wanted to do our bit to support key workers, but how could we help them? Well, we had a fleet of loan bikes for curious commuters, plus a city full of key workers who were being advised to avoid public transport. So we repurposed our fleet to offer free bike loans for key workers.
Key worker bike loans
To date, we have loaned out 42 bikes to key workers all over Glasgow: doctors, nurses, support workers, and supermarket staff, just to name a few. We have over 30 people on the waiting list, after facing an incredible demand for this service.
We swiftly ran out of bikes for key workers, but thanks to Glasgow Life, who donated a fleet of 15 number of bikes to us, we were back in business.
Additionally, we have received funding from Cycling Scotland, Cycling UK, and SEIN which has enabled us to buy more bikes, locks, helmets, and pannier bags for key workers to use.
Matthew is the Workstation Manager at Lighthouse Labs, a Covid-19 Emergency Testing Centre. We loaned him a bike to get to and from work safely, without having to use public transport.
He said:
“Thank you for supporting us key workers. My bike is not only my transportation to work, but it helps me to destress on the way home. It has been invaluable to me.”
Get involved
If you are a key worker looking for a bike loan, please contact our Active Travel Coordinator Gail on Gail@bikeforgood.org.uk. Gail will place you on the waiting list and get back to you as soon as she can.
We are still looking for more bikes so if you have a donation or know of a fleet of bikes currently being unused, please let us know via our contact form.