City takes the sweat out of staff meetings

15 October 2008

Peterborough City Council staff are being encouraged to ditch their cars in favour of an electric bike to get to meetings across the city.

Staff at all the city council’s offices are able to use the ‘clean electric hybrid’ bike, which has pedal assistance.

Matt Barber, sustainable travel officer for Peterborough City Council, said: ‘Regular pedal cycles are popular, but for meetings which are more than a short cycle ride away, staff could find they arrive at their appointments feeling hot and sweaty.

‘The electric bike allows people to cycle much further. They can pedal part of the way, and use the battery power if they get tired for the rest of the journey.’ The bike can reach around 15mph and, when fully charged ,has a range of 15-20 miles.

The city council currently has one electric pool bike, but may consider purchasing another, if there proves to be sufficient demand. Meanwhile the Borough of Poole has road-tested an electric car on a week’s trial.

Staff from the council’s building consultancy service used the Mercedes Smart Electric Drive car to travel to and from business appointments.

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