Annual report & accounts 2024-25

Access to bikes, cycle parking & storage

Access to bikes 

In 2024-25, through new and existing partnerships and projects, we continued our commitment to tackling transport poverty in Scotland by helping more people get access to a bike. 

With funding from Regional Transport Partnerships, Cycling Scotland supported the People and Place programme by delivering eight Access to Bikes projects across five regions, distributing over 3,500 bikes. 

In total, we worked with 37 partner organisations to ensure wide-ranging impact. These included local authorities, bike recycling organisations such as Dundee and Angus Cycle Hub and Fife Bikework, local primary schools, and NHS Fife.

Bikes were delivered to families with children who are facing barriers related to costs and wider life challenges, as well as young carers, care experienced young people, those with disabilities and those from families in receipt of benefits. 

Among others, we were funded by SEStran to support Fife-based community charity Greener Kirkcaldy to deliver a fleet of 15 e-bikes for staff use at NHS Fife’s Victoria Hospital. This holistic programme saw the development of a network of cycle champions who now provide support to colleagues who wish to cycle to/from and for work. The bikes are now fully maintained and managed by Greener Kirkcaldy.

A further example of collaboration includes the provision of 55 bikes to individuals involved in South Lanarkshire Council’s family and youth activities. None of the recipients had owned a bike before prior to participating in the scheme and many had never cycled. New helmets, D-locks and puncture repair kits were also distributed, with children benefitting from National Standard Cycle Training alongside the donation. To provide continued support, the local authority also secured a bike servicing contract to ensure all bikes are in kept in working order and to maximise usage.

Affordable access to bikes - bike reuse

Funded by Transport Scotland, the Bike Reuse project demonstrates the impact of bike reuse by social enterprises across Scotland. The project implements recommendations made in the Affordable Access to Bikes Report (2021) and helps remove barriers to bike reuse in Scotland. Activity in 2024-25 included support for the Circular Communities Scotland Bike Reuse Coordinator to demonstrate impact of bike reuse across Scotland. This included:

• Development of a Local Authority Toolkit to improve access to bikes at Household Waste Recycling Centres and encourage the supply of bikes and parts for refurbishment.
• Progressing standardisation of data collection to demonstrate sector impact.
• Facilitating local, regional and national collaboration through knowledge sharing and forums.

Case study

Bike reuse project with Employability Orkney and Orkney Islands Council

Orkney Islands Council identified a lack of facilities to encourage bike recycling. Working with Cycling Scotland and partner agencies including Hoy Development Trust and Employability Orkney, the local authority organised workshops in Kirkwall that were open to people across the Orkney Islands.

Workshops covered all aspects of bike safety and bike maintenance with 11 people completing the training and working to give bikes a new lease of life.

Signage and two storage containers were provided, allowing for bikes to be stored during maintenance and safety checking, and for local residents to drop off unwanted bikes for refurbishment and redistribution to new owners. 

To date, this local project has led to 42 bikes being saved from landfill, with 27 repaired and provided to new users across Orkney.