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The Environment Minister has ended a £300,000 electric bike grant scheme sooner than planned because only 600 people purchased e-bikes as a result of the initiative.
Deputy Steve Luce announced today that the leftover £100,000 set aside for the scheme will instead support local businesses to make the switch to electric vans.
Since the launch of the initiative in January last year, almost 1,800 vouchers have been awarded – but only 34% were actually redeemed.
This resulted in just over 600 islanders purchasing an e-bike, e-cargo bike or adapted e-cycle through the scheme.
The Environment Minster said: “With only a minority of issued e-bike vouchers actually being redeemed by those who got them, I have decided to divert the funding to other aspects of the Carbon Neutral Roadmap.
“My thanks go to the bike retailers who’ve supported us with this scheme over the past year-and-a-half.
“We know the opportunity to buy an e-bike at a reduced price has been genuinely life-changing for some islanders who had not previously had the option to cycle.”
The e-bike grant scheme was one of the initiatives forming part of the 'Carbon Neutral Roadmap' – a set of policies aiming to ensure the island hits net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
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