Cycle Training & Bike Buddy Scheme

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Progress Report October 2004

The Bike Buddy scheme has been running since July 2003. The scheme is aimed at adults who are:

• Living, working or studying in Tower Hamlets
• New to cycling or not confident to cycle in urban conditions.

The objective is to enable applicants to use a bicycle for their day-to-day urban transport needs. The scheme offers the following resources:

• An information pack containing guides to "get started" and local area cycling maps
• Funding for professional cycle lessons (up to two hours per person)
• Assistance from a "bike buddy" (an experienced cyclist) once training is complete, to help the applicant gain confidence
• Provision, where necessary, of a low-cost, recycled bike, and a limited amount of funding for essential equipment, such as a bike lock
• Access to a monthly self-help workshop, where new cyclists can learn how to maintain their bicycle

To date:

• 73 people have applied to join the scheme and have received the information pack
• 32 people have attended professional cycle training
• 12 bicycles have been re-cycled and supplied to scheme members
• The workshop has been held on the last Saturday of every month, and typically attracts 10-15 attendees (not only scheme applicants)

We have collected basic statistics about the applicants. Some results are:

• The vast majority of applicants have been female (65/73)
• The majority are in full-time employment (51/73)
• Asian applicants are under-represented (9/73) for the area

The scheme has been publicised via:

• Articles in local press (e.g. East End Life)
• The Tower Hamlets Wheelers web site
• Posters in all Doctors' Surgeries in Tower Hamlets
• On the Tower Hamlets Wheelers stand at community events
• Via the Tower Hamlets Wheelers newsletter

The most productive of these has been the web site entry. The Doctors' surgery poster (a fairly recent publicity method) has also proved effective. We intend to place posters at other suitable locations in the near future (student unions and libraries are two possible places).

We have some way to go to use all the funding provided, but are receiving a steady rate of applications, and are confident of using all the funds received. We expect that the scheme will run until the end of 2005 with existing funding. Funds have been consumed more slowly than we originally estimated, but we are certainly getting enough applicants to make running the scheme worthwhile.

Approximately 50% of applicants have not undertaken training. In some cases this is because the applicant was interested in other parts of the scheme (for example the workshop, or the bike buddy facility). In others, the applicant will have lost interest following the initial application. We provide access to training by supplying contact details for the training organisations to the applicant, and leave them to make a booking. We believe this "low pressure" approach is the most appropriate for a scheme of this type. We do, however, send an e-mail to applicants who have not undertaken training to encourage them to do so.

Recycling bicycles has been successful, on a small scale. The major problem we have had is that most of our applicants are female, and many of the bicycles that have become available for recycling have been men's models, and as such are too large for our applicants. In order to keep the cost low, we have taken on only bicycles that can be made roadworthy with less than £30 of new parts. We currently have a small backlog of applicants who would like to purchase a re-cycled bike from us.

The monthly workshop has proved popular. It runs from 11:00 to 15:00, and is "staffed" by two or three Tower Hamlets Wheelers members who provide advice and assistance. Setting up the workshop has involved expenditure on a workshop stand and several tools, but these have been well-used, and we should now be able to run the workshop with very little extra expenditure.

The least used feature of the scheme has been the "bike buddy" offer. We have provided bike buddies for several candidates, but have found that many have gained sufficient confidence after the training sessions to be happy to ride on their own. Also, Tower Hamlets Wheelers organise regular group rides, and several bike buddy candidates have joined these rides rather than use the one to one bike buddy arrangement.

Overall, we believe the scheme has been successful, and is well worth continuing for the rest of 2004 and 2005. If, at the end of 2005 we are still attracting a reasonable number of new applicants, we will look to extend it, but will then have to apply for further funding.

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