Organisations are being given the chance to apply for up to £200,000 of Department for Transport funding towards ecargo bikes – four times the amount they could previously apply for.

Delivered by Energy Saving Trust, the £2 million eCargo Bike Grant Fund is available to limited companies, sole traders, partnerships, charities and not-for-profit organisations.

The grant fund originally opened to applications on April 1, 2019, to support the adoption of sustainable transport by businesses operating in England. Funding had previously been capped at £50,000 per organisation.

To date, more than 50 SMEs have been awarded funding.

Tim Anderson, senior programme manager at Energy Saving Trust, said: “It is heartening to see the significant interest and response to this grant fund which enables applicants to request grant funding for up to 20% of the cost of a new ecargo bike up to the value of £1,000 per bike.

“This increase means that a possible 200 ecargo bikes per organisation can now be secured, to support larger organisations implementing sustainable last-mile delivery and goods transport solutions.”

Anderson said benefits to the adoption of ecargo bikes include the reduction of congestion, improvement of air quality in towns and cities, and operating costs savings.

The deadline for applications to the grant fund is March 31, 2020, and applications for funding will be assessed on a first come, first served basis.

Grant funding is conditional on recipients signing up to a robust code of practice developed in association with the UK Cycle Logistics Federation and the Bicycle Association and includes cycle safety best practice.

The eCargo Bike Grant Fund eligibility criteria, code of practice and application form are available at www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/transport/ecargo-bike-grant-fund

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