ON YER E-BIKES!
OLYMPIC HERO DAME JESSICA BACKS CITY’S ECO-FRIENDLY TRAVEL SCHEME
OLYMPIC champion and sporting hero Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill visited Leicester to give her support to the city’s new e-bike scheme.
The London 2012 gold medallist and three-time heptathlon world champion has praised the project, which will lead to 500 e-bikes being installed across the city and provide a new, ecofriendly way for people to get around Leicester.
Dame Jessica visited one of the docking stations at Orton Square, outside Curve theatre, to give the bikes a go and share her views on the new scheme.
She said: “I think we’re in a time now where the world has changed so much after the pandemic. More people are looking for more ways to travel around the city, and not just on buses and trains or whatever it might be.
“So to have a scheme like this, to be able to find one of the docking stations and get to your destination easily, it’s fantastic and provides so many opportunities.
“I think the opportunity to be able to get out into the great outdoors is really important, and is something we really appreciate now after the past 18 months.
“I think more people have taken up walking and cycling which they perhaps wouldn’t have done before the pandemic, it’s a change of habits, and it’s good to get people on bikes and enjoying the outdoors.”
The athlete also spoke about how the scheme is an affordable alternative to those who need a way to get around the city – and even tried one out for herself.
She said: “Bikes are expensive, and it’s the maintenance of the bike and storing the bike as well that adds up, too. So you can just pick up a bike at the docking station, they’re reasonably priced and a bit more eco to use.
“I used one of the bikes earlier today and they take off quite fast! You have to be ready for it to go and make sure you’re using your brakes, but they are a very quick and easy way to get around.”
When all 500 bikes are installed, it will provide Leicester with the largest docked e-bike sharing scheme in the country.
The majority of docking stations are based around the city centre, but one has recently been set up in Glenfield, with the council looking to open them across the city. The bikes have enough charge for around 30 miles.
According to deputy mayor Councillor Adam Clarke, 20,000 people have signed up for the scheme in one way or another, whether that be as a pay-asyou-go system, or paying for a monthly or yearly membership which gives you discounted rides.
So far, there have been 28,000 trips under the £600,000 scheme, which was given the go-ahead after the Department for Transport granted funding from their Transforming Cities Fund, as well as the sponsorship by Santander, the operator Ride On, and their delivery partner, Enzen Global.
Coun Clarke added: “Leicester is a cycling city. Our new e-bike share scheme is part of our commitment to cycling and to the ongoing challenge of the climate emergency.
“It’s also an important part of our Covid-19 transport recovery plan.
“Opting to travel by bike is a great choice to make – for your own health, for our city’s air quality and for the environment.
“We’ve developed an inclusive, affordable and accessible e-bike share scheme to help to make cycling the preferred option for many of our diverse communities, joining the 18,000 people that already choose to travel regularly in Leicester by bike.”