Former City Bikes get the chance of a new life!

Lincolnshire County Council donate 60 city bikes to Wheels for Life campaign, ready for new ones coming to the city in 2024.

Lincolnshire County Council have generously donated their city bikes that were previously used for cycle hire around Lincoln to Active Lincolnshire’s new campaign, Wheels for Life.

Approximately 60 bikes have been donated. Each bike will be distributed around the county to the Wheels for Life hubs, where they will be serviced and repaired ready for their new homes and their second life.

The bikes that were introduced to the city in 2013, have had ten years in operation for tourists, local residents and students to use around the city. These bikes were originally designed to help people move easily around the city without needing a car, which also helps to support the Lincoln Transport Strategy reducing car dependency and increasing the use of more sustainable modes of travel.

Phil Watt, Active Travel Officer for Lincolnshire County Council, says ‘’The City Bikes have been a great addition to us over the past ten years, but things have rapidly changed, and the technology of these bikes is now very out of date for a hire bike scheme. We are now working on a new scheme to bring e-bikes to Lincoln and all the surrounding villages, making cycling as accessible as possible to anyone and everyone.

Wheels for Life means that these ‘older’ bikes, that have still got plenty of miles left in them, can live on, have a second life and make a difference to the people of Lincolnshire. It is great to be involved in the campaign and work alongside Active Lincolnshire to encourage Lincolnshire people to get out and about on a bike which both our new and old bikes will do. ‘’

Emma Tatlow, Chief Executive of Active Lincolnshire says, ‘’This donation from Lincolnshire County Council is a great step forward for the Wheels for Life Campaign and these 60 bikes will make a real difference to the people of Lincolnshire. It will also save these bikes going into landfill, which is an important benefit of the Wheels for Life programme. We greatly appreciate the support of the Local Authorities and all of our partners as we all work together to make Lincolnshire travelling more accessible to people across the county. ‘’

Cllr. Richard Davies, Executive Member for Transport at Lincolnshire County Council added: “It’s great to see the bikes getting a new lease of life and helping members of the community.
We’re always looking for ways to reduce waste and ensure maximum use from our assets.

Keeping the bikes in Lincolnshire and ensuring that Lincolnshire people continue benefiting from them is a fantastic way to end the first hire-bike project.”

Wheels for Life is a new scheme for bike donation which takes pre-loved bikes and brings them back to a usable condition, for them to be gifted to people who do not have the opportunity to enjoy the varied benefits of owning and using a bike.

Active Lincolnshire is running the scheme as the county’s charity who advocate the creating of inclusive, accessible opportunities for people to be active, and have launched this new scheme to rehome unloved and unwanted bicycles.

Their aim is to recycle 500 bikes in the first year of the campaign, which will have a huge impact on the environment saving 7.5 tons of waste every year. These 60 donated bikes from Lincolnshire County Council that will be transformed as part of the campaign and given a new life, will save nearly a ton of waste being created. This will also help to assist 500 people in transport poverty enabling them a better future throughout Lincolnshire.

Have you a bike you wish to donate? Please go online to www.wheelsforlife.co.uk to find your local donation point. Or perhaps your company has some unused bikes that are taking up space? Contact us directly to see how you can support the campaign, reduce waste & help people across the county