Colleagues in Cheltenham are leading the charge towards sustainable travel with a two-year trial of Trust e-bikes.
Five new e-bikes were delivered to Leckhampton Lodge at the end of November which will be trialled by six colleagues in Children and Young People’s Services (CYPS).
National plans commit the NHS to reducing carbon emissions, tackling air quality and minimising travel emissions, and the Trust is working towards a larger electric vehicles fleet, more charging points and fewer business miles.
The trial will test whether e-bikes offer a viable alternative for home visits and explore the potential benefits related to cost, sustainability and health and wellbeing.
Louise Cleveland, operational lead for Cheltenham CYPS, said: “As an environmentally friendly alternative to a car, e-bikes will contribute to our sustainability goals while easing parking and congestion.
“Cycling can improve colleagues’ mental and physical health, while the increased visibility of our community mental health team may help reduce stigma and encourage more engagement.”
Colleagues using the e-bikes have undertaken cycling proficiency training and new recharging and storage has been installed at the Charlton Lane site.
Clothing and paniers have also been provided as part of the arrangement, which has seen the Trust lease the e-bikes from DASH, a cycle provider specialising in work-related active travel.
Funding has been provided by Active Travel Gloucestershire, a county plan aimed at increasing the volume of cyclists and development of a spine of cycle routes from Bishop’s Cleeve to Stroud.
The Trust will look at the number of trips undertaken, associated reduction in carbon emissions, change in milage costs, service impact, colleague satisfaction and quality assessments.
Head of Sustainability James Powell said; “This is an exciting and innovative trial which offers opportunities for wide-ranging benefits for the Trust and, potentially for patients.
“Obviously, I’m keen to see if we can cut our car use and emissions, but also whether we can avoid traffic and parking issues and get to more appointments.
“The trial is quite small at the moment, but we would like to have more people taking part in more of these trials. I’ve had some expressions of interest, and will be talking to other colleague who think their work speciality would benefit from an e-bike. We can then start to think about our next steps.”
