Advertisement
For £35 you can help a vendor keep themselves warm, dry, fed, earning and progressing
BUY A VENDOR SUPPORT KIT
News

Big Issue eBikes: We need your help

Vandalism is putting the scheme at risk.

One of the first Big Issue ebikes, by the canal in Bristol

One of the first Big Issue ebikes, by the canal in Bristol. Image Credit: Big Issue eBikes

The Big Issue eBikes have been on the road since February, helping people in Bristol get around in a healthy and environmentally friendly way – but now we need to ask for help.

Bristol was the first British city to be named European Green Capital, and the uptake for the eBikes has shown this spirit lives on. The fleet of bikes are projected to prevent around 1,900 car journeys every day.

The eBikes, available 24/7, all have different names, and those supporting them are also helping create opportunities for marginalised people. The eBikes scheme recruits previously unemployed people, trains them up, and gets them back into work to keep things running smoothly.

But vandalism is putting the scheme at risk. It’s not believed to be from people taking part in the scheme  – but it’s a serious problem.

We need your support to ensure the bikes are available for a long time to come.

Less than a month after its launch, vandalism forced the scheme to reduce access in southern parts of the city. A previous bike hire scheme, YoBikes, was forced to pull out of Bristol after high levels of vandalism.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Baskets are being ripped off and bikes are being stolen to cycle home – only for thieves to find they’re hard to pedal without electric assistance and giving up. Discarded eBikes have been lost along the Avon river, and from Southmead in the North to Hartcliffe in the South.

To tackle this, the zones for the bikes have recently changed. Those riding out of the city centre must now leave their bikes in smaller, specific “gathering points” on the outskirts of the city.

These changes, intended to make the eBikes safer and more available, will be shown in the Big Issue eBike app. Riders can also email zones@bigissue.bike to suggest improvements to zones.

But other changes are also afoot – inspired by high demand, the bikes will also be available with a longer subscription plan for regular users who want to cycle longer distances.

Jan Tore Endresen, CEO of Sharebike, the Big Issue’s partner in the eBikes scheme, said: “It’s really a shame that a few people can ruin something that has such a potential to benefit many.

“I would think it is in the interest of the council and the community to introduce a long term plan to tackle vandalism for Bristol to flourish.”

Got some wisdom to share? Want to get involved and help? Email editorial@bigissue.com

Advertisement

Change a vendor's life this Christmas

This Christmas, 3.8 million people across the UK will be facing extreme poverty. Thousands of those struggling will turn to selling the Big Issue as a vital source of income - they need your support to earn and lift themselves out of poverty.

Recommended for you

View all
'Dismay' for disabled and vulnerable households as average annual energy bills to rise to £1,738
Blue flames from a gas hob
Energy bills

'Dismay' for disabled and vulnerable households as average annual energy bills to rise to £1,738

Malala Yousafzai on taking on the Taliban and why 'storytelling is the soul of activism'
Malala Yousafzai
Activism

Malala Yousafzai on taking on the Taliban and why 'storytelling is the soul of activism'

Mum-of-three hit with 'revenge eviction' after asking for repairs: 'It felt like the end of the world'
Hazell and her three kids faced homelessness until Shelter stepped in
Renting

Mum-of-three hit with 'revenge eviction' after asking for repairs: 'It felt like the end of the world'

Winter fuel benefit cuts will send pensioners to hospital, DWP warned: 'It's a political choice'
a view from above of an older person with white hair eating out of a pot
Winter fuel payment

Winter fuel benefit cuts will send pensioners to hospital, DWP warned: 'It's a political choice'

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know