A NEW e-bike grant scheme – through which randomly selected entrants can receive discount vouchers – is a ‘token gesture’ and will not incentivise those on low incomes to cycle, a States Member has said.
Deputy Rob Ward said the government initiative appeared to offer savings to those who ‘already have the money’ rather than changing the culture around sustainable transport use.
The £300,000 scheme involves vouchers ranging between £300 and £600 being offered in a lottery, with winners then able to reduce the cost of buying an electric bike from participating shops. Islanders can apply now for the first tranche of vouchers. There will be 100 winners chosen at random. Further application windows are to be scheduled every three months, staggered over the next two years, to help local retailers cope with demand.
Assistant Environment Minister Hilary Jeune said officers estimated that the scheme would remove the annual equivalent of nearly 500 tonnes of carbon emissions – the equivalent of 133 people.
However, Deputy Ward, who has long campaigned for eco-friendly initiatives to be pushed towards the top of the government’s agenda, argued that given the cost of e-bikes – with most costing around £2,000 and some selling for as much as £6,000 – only a select few would be able to buy one, even with the discount vouchers.
‘I support all schemes that move people to more sustainable forms of transport, but I can’t help but think this is a token gesture, rather than a meaningful attempt to change the culture around cycling,’ he said.
‘I’m not sure who it’s targeted at. It’s not targeted for low-income groups. It seems like a break for those who already have the money.’
Meanwhile, Richard Tanguy, from Big Maggy’s bike shop, said that it was a ‘good scheme’ and that a previous set of discount vouchers had ‘made a massive difference’ which ‘got the ball rolling for all e-bikes in the Island’. However, he also raised concerns over the costs involved.
‘If you’re going to purchase something decent, safe and reliable you have to spend £2,000 at least – and not everyone’s got that,’ he said.
It is not the first time the government has introduced an e-bike grant scheme, with similar programmes having run in 2016 and 2019.
St Saviour Constable Kevin Lewis – who as a former Infrastructure Minister oversaw a similar initiative – said that he is ‘all for it’.
‘With the congestion we have, we have to encourage more people to cycle,’ he added.
The vendors taking part in the project are: The Cog and Sprocket, JE’s Powerhouse, Co-op Bikes, Mark Pickford’s Cycle Shop, Fortuna Euronics, Pedal Power, Aaron’s Bikes, Evolution Cycles, Bicycle Workshop and Big Maggy’s.
