Cycle hire offer to NHS staff extended

Transport for Edinburgh has announced the release of an additional 250 four-month passes for Edinburgh Cycle Hire (Just Eat Bikes) for NHS staff

Developed in partnership with Sustrans Scotland and Edinburgh Cycle Hire operators Serco, the scheme has been made possible with funding through Sustrans’ Partnership Programme, supported by Transport Scotland.

Since the end of April 2020, 100 NHS workers have been benefiting from the first phase of the programme using free annual passes. These have supported NHS staff throughout the Lothian area, and provided a healthy way to travel for essential journeys and for work during the Covid-19 crisis.

Recognising the success of the 100 passes, and building upon the support demonstrated for the scheme through over-subscription to the first phase, a further 250 passes are being made available to NHS Lothian employees.

The new four-month Edinburgh Cycle Hire passes can be applied for by emailing a request to support@edinburchcyclehire.com using an NHS email address (@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk or @nhs.net).

The passes will provide workers with a code to load into the Edinburgh Cycle Hire App, allowing them free access to use both pedal and e-bikes up to 60 minutes per ride for the first two months from date of issue. The final two months of the four-month pass will revert to pedal bikes only up to 60 minutes per ride free. E-bike trips will then cost 10p per minute.

George Lowder, Chief Executive, Transport for Edinburgh said: “We are delighted to have secured a second tranche of funding from Scottish Government via Sustrans, to provide further support for up to 250 NHS Staff in Edinburgh, giving them four months free access to the scheme and then an opportunity to remain members of the scheme at less than half the price of an annual pass.”

Ross Miller, Senior Transport Integration Officer at Sustrans Scotland said: “After seeing such a positive response to the first phase of this programme, we are delighted to provide funding to support a further 250 NHS Lothian staff in making happier and healthier journey choices.

“These four-month passes, combined with reduced price membership renewal, offer a healthy and convenient transportation choice, and we hope that by giving more of our vital NHS staff the chance to access the scheme, more staff members will adopt changes in the way they choose to travel which will last beyond this pandemic.”

Alex Macdonald, General Manager of Just Eat Cycles, said: “We want to thank all NHS employees for their incredible efforts and the sacrifices they continue to make.

“Our network is proving to be a lifeline for many people during these unprecedented times with many essential workers using the bikes to travel to and from places of work. We hope these additional NHS Passes can go some way to support NHS employees during what is an incredibly challenging time.”