CargoBikes

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Spokes cargobike support grants for organisations
Spokes cargobike support grants for households
Info about cargobikes, including local advice/tryouts
Spokes posts & events relevant to cargobikes
Pictures and reports from some spokes-supported cargobikes
See also our e-bike page, with our Why E-bike? factsheet

Spokes is keen to see more cargobikes in Edinburgh and the Lothians towns, to demonstrate that environmentally positive methods of transporting goods (and children) are possible – and are coming! We are therefore offering grants to organisations, and occasionally to households, to help with the cost of purchase.

Spokes Cargobike support grants for organisations

Thanks to generous donations from our members we are pleased to offer grants to local community organisations (and very small businesses) based in Edinburgh/Lothian to assist with the cost of buying a cargo bike.

Recently the Galashan Trust kindly boosted our grants, so we can now offer up to £3000 towards the cargobike cost if the organisation is a registered charity or SCIO, and up to £2000 for other voluntary/community organisations or micro-businesses.

Help publicise our grants for community groups by retweeting our tweet.

How to apply

Read our information sheet [pdf]
Complete the application form [rtf format, so it can be completed in most WP packages].
Email the completed form to spokes AT spokes.org.uk
Suggested artwork [pdf] for credit on cargobike. If used as a sticker, then, depending on desired final size, this can be printed on A4 adhesive vinyl to produce 2 stickers 216 wide by 102mm deep. High quality stickers for use on vehicles are available locally here… fhmcdsigns.co.uk

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Spokes Cargobike support grants for households

Sorry, no household grants currently available

The above offer to organisations is ongoing, but there are also occasional one-off offers to assist households living in (or very near) Edinburgh or the Lothians to purchase a cargobike, so that more cargobikes are seen being used in our area. These offers are usually restricted to Spokes member households. We publicise the offers, and the criteria, in member emails and sometimes on social media.

To apply, just email Spokes explaining why you need a cargobike, and how it will be used (and safely stored). We will then tell you if you are successful. If so, then, once you have the shop invoice, you should submit this form [Word, pdf] appropriately completed, along with a copy of the invoice, before the grant will be paid. Second-hand purchases are allowed but only if from a (local) bike shop.

[2023] Spokes summer competition Prizes included £1000 towards a cargobike and £200 towards an ebike
[2022] We will be using a surplus from our Spokes maps sales to offer grants up to £1500 to Spokes member households (initially up to 4 households) towards the cost of a cargobike
[2022] Spokes Summer Competition Prizes included £750 towards a cargobike and £100 towards an e-bike
[2021] Spokes Spring Competition Prizes included £500 towards a cargobike and £100 towards an e-bike
[2019/2020] Thanks to a very large kind donation, we were able to provide support grants [page2] to several Spokes members towards a family cargobike or e-bike
[2019] Spokes Summer Competition As one of the prizes, we offered £500 towards a family cargo bike. The prize went to Hazel Darwin.

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Cargobikes – background info, contacts, etc

Cargo Bike Movement Edinburgh-based advice & free try-outs cargobikemovement.com
Sustrans Scotland CargoBike Network Info/assistance opportunities sustrans.org.uk/cargobikescotland opportunities map
Scottish CargoBike manufacturers
European Cycle Logistics Federation eclf.bike
ECLF UK representative – Richard Armitage Email: richarda[AT]eclf.bike
[2021] Cargobikes – Game Changer for European Cities – Eltis paper on recent developments
[2021] Cargobike-Friendly City – guide for city politicians & planners
[2021] Potential of CargoBikes – Salford University report
[2018] Summary of UK cargobike initiatives by Richard Armitage
[2018] UK govt consultation on Last Mile Delivery
10 uses for a cargo-bike by @EdinburghBikes
Cargobike lockers [options with solar or green roof]

Cargobike storage

Potential use of the Cyclehoop Bike Hangars – see this tweet
Open air storage – interesting email from a Spokes member, though with cargobikes becoming more commonplace perhaps this will become less safe …

Storage is a very good question in Edinburgh city centre where bike theft is common and very few people have lockable garages or similar. We looked into insurance for our cargo bike but found it to be costly in relation to the value of the bike and therefore uneconomical. We lock our bike to a sturdy post using two locks – a heavy duty motorcycle chain and another, slightly lighter chain. The post is on a spacious area of pavement outside some shops on a busy residential street which is brightly lit at night. We can see the bike clearly from our second floor flat, opposite. We’ve been storing cargo bikes on this post for more than five years (our current cargo bike, and a previous one which we replaced) without any theft or vandalism. The cargo bike is protected (and made less obvious) by a large black motorcycle-style cover.

We think our cargo bike(s) have been safe here as the area is busy during the day and brightly lit at night. The locks are also good. And it is a fairly safe neighbourhood. In addition, we’d heard that cargo bikes tend not to be stolen in the UK as they are rare here and there is such a small market for selling them on. I think probably most Edinburgh bike theft is opportunistic whereas cargo bike thieves would need to be more specialised/organised in terms of the theft/transport/selling on of the stolen bike. I think such an operation would be obvious to the police and so cargo bike theft in the UK is rare/unlikely. I know a few cargo bike owners in Edinburgh and all store their bikes outside, well locked up and under covers, and I’ve not heard of any problems.

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Spokes posts/events related to cargobikes

[2022] Spokes Shopping by Bike competition – several cargobike users
[2021] Action-Update 6.8.21 Special cargobike grant offer to Spokes members, thanks to an anonymous donation
[2019] Spokes Public Meeting, November 15 on cargo bikes and other forthcoming Edinburgh cycling innovations
[2019] Spokesworker 15.11.19 [page 2] Special cargobike grant offer to Spokes members, thanks to a large anonymous donation
[2018] Spokes Bulletin 131 announcing Spokes cargobike support (above) and our first grant offer – to the Hearty Squirrel food coop
[2017] Spokes Bulletin 129 with e-mobility feature [p6] including local cargobike suppliers & related contacts Tweet
[2017] Spokes response to Edinburgh Council EV consultation [pdf]. Subsequently Transport Committee [7.12.17] agrees that the EV strategy will be widened (report due late 2018) to become “a fully integrated e-mobility action plan prioritising a modal shift from car to other modes, consistent with the targets in the Local Transport Strategy.”
[2015] Spokes submission to Scottish Parliament re cargobikes