Household Bills
Next tranche of ‘fix your bike’ vouchers available
The government has released a further 50,000 free £50 bike vouchers to help people fix their bikes.
The Department for Transport made the announcement on Twitter.
The fix your bike scheme was first launched in July but cyclists trying to obtain one of the first batch of vouchers faced technical issues and website error messages.
The scheme is open to anyone in England who has an unused bike in need of a repair.
Due to overwhelming demand for cycle shops’ services during the pandemic, vouchers are being released in batches in order to help manage capacity across participating stores.
Cyclists who want to register for a voucher are directed from the government website to a website run by the Energy Saving Trust.
The vouchers can only be used with bike repairers or mechanics that are registered for the scheme in England, and up to two vouchers can be claimed per household.
The government says that by encouraging people to get their old bikes out of the back of the shed fixed and safe to ride, the scheme will help more people choose cycling over public transport as a convenient way to travel.
Retailer Halfords says it is ready to support the government’s latest release of the vouchers and that it will also offer cyclists a free 32-point bike check to assess repairs.
The store can then hold onto the bike and complete the repairs or the customer can revisit to have their repairs carried out at a later date. The bike repair voucher will then be put towards the cost of any eligible repairs.
Graham Stapleton, CEO at Halfords, said: “When the government launched the ‘Fix Your Bike’ voucher scheme in July we helped repair thousands of bikes. This campaign means that many who might not be able to afford to get their bike fixed can now bring theirs back to a roadworthy condition.
“Getting more people back on their bikes helps to relieve pressure on public transport when many are unsure about making essential journeys, whilst also promoting cycling to improve health. Our highly skilled bike technicians across the UK are on hand to offer each cyclist a free 32 point bike check and diagnosis before they spend their voucher.”
