We’ve wrapped up our second round of the Ride & Stride e-cargo bike program, providing 47 families a free four-week loan of an e-cargo bike over Term 3.
At Brunswick North West Primary, St Oliver Plunkett Primary and Moreland Primary, we worked with local e-bike subscription service Lug & Carrie to get more families switching the car for a happier, healthier school run. Partnering with a provider that offers a low-cost weekly subscription means we can provide more affordable, equitable transport alternatives for local families.
How it works
After hosting pop-up try out sessions at each school, parents could register their interest in the initiative, and were then contacted to discuss the type of bike and setup they needed for their family. Next, Lug & Carrie delivered the bike to the family’s house, gave them a 1-to-1 orientation on how to ride the bike, and provided personalised safe routes to school, work and home through the RidePlan app. The families then had the bikes for four weeks to enjoy!
55% of the families that signed up usually drove the school run. Following the trial, 67% now plan to ride the school run instead, and 37% have decided to continue on a weekly subscription!
“We’ve loved everything about the trial. Customer service. Health benefits. Riding with the kids. Avoiding traffic and driving. Better on the environment.”
More women on bikes
72% of people that signed up were women. Many mums told us the trial gave them the opportunity and confidence to get back on a bike after having kids, with 80% indicating they now felt confident riding with children.
“I used to ride a bike all the time and haven’t done so much since having a kid – I’m worried about road safety if we were to ride separately but think this would be a great start for her and a great way to get back on the bike for myself! She’s been pushing me to use more active transport and I’d love to do so.”
Initiatives like this are providing more accessible transport alternatives for mothers, building their riding confidence and helping to reduce the gender gap in cycling.
Easy, viable alternative to driving
Many participants said that confidence riding an e-bike, feeling like they would have too much to carry for a bike, and cost of purchasing an e-cargo bike outright were all key barriers that had prevented them trying out e-bikes before. Following the trial, most families felt these barriers were addressed and felt that e-cargo bikes were an easy, viable alternative to driving – 41% said they think e-cargo bikes will replace the need to purchase a second car.
74% of families used their bike at least 2-3 times a week, with 35% of these families using it once or more a day – not only for the school run, but also for grocery trips, getting to work, and family rides on the weekend.
“The bike has been an absolute joy to ride, especially when it came to tackling the hills where we live that I usually struggle to manage on my normal bike. I loved being able to have the kids on the back and not need the car for outings and daily activities. It was so much fun!”
98% of families said they would highly recommend the trial to others. It has been fantastic to see so many families at our Ride & Stride schools switch to happier, healthier ways of getting around Merri-bek, and we can’t wait to offer this trial to more schools next year.
If you are interested in your school participating in this trial, encourage them to apply for the next round of Ride & Stride in 2023.
For more information on e-cargo bikes, check out our guide to electric transport.
