Scotland leads UK with £1.3 million incentive on electric bike uptake

Transport Scotland has today announced a £1.3 million funding pot to drive the uptake of electric bikes.

Interest-free loans tallying as much as £3,000 are to be made available to citizens and businesses interested in electric bikes, with applications invited as part of the £500,000 Low Carbon Transport Loan Fund.

A further e-Bike Grant Fund will distribute some £700,000 to Scottish councils, public sector bodies and community groups in order to generate e-Bike pool schemes, build in secure parking and to buy safety equipment.

Furthermore, £100,000 extra from this scheme will drive a demo scheme at community centres, Home Energy Scotland advice centres and active travel hubs around the country. These demos very often result in a desire to purchase, as has been found elsewhere.

The funding was announced by Rural Economy and Connectivity Secretary Fergus Ewing who made the call ahead of the Scottish Transport Summit in Glasgow. The announcement closely follows similar moves by Paris, France and Sweden.

Ewing said: “These funds are the latest in a range of measures the Scottish Government is introducing to encourage sustainable and active travel.

“We want more people, who undertake shorter journeys, to leave their cars at home and go by bike for the benefit of their health and our environment.

“E-bikes can be a great way of getting started with active travel as they offer as much assistance as the rider needs. They also make it easy for people to take heavy bags with them using panniers, trailers or by opting for an e-cargo bike in the first place.”