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Tackling the Barrier of Cost for Cycling with Forth Bike Vouchers

Scotland has a long history of welcoming refugees and asylum seekers from all over the world who seek sanctuary. Enabling families with the opportunity to have a new place to call home and become integrated within our communities is at the forefront of many people’s minds here in Scotland.

What is the Forth Bike Voucher Scheme?

Through our funding, we have secured 200 Forth Bike vouchers to distribute to low-income families and socially isolated people around Forth Valley.

We want to encourage confidence and help link these people to their community in a way that promotes wellbeing and helps them to adopt healthy habits that are practical, accessible and can be easily integrated into their day-to-day lives.

Working with the refugees and asylum seekers in Falkirk

We are delighted to share that we have delivered the first subsidised memberships to five men who are currently staying at Cladhan Hotel in Falkirk seeking asylum. We have been working with the asylum seekers at this hotel to try to offer assistance by running led rides and providing cooking facilities.

On Wednesday the 3rd of August, we met the group at their nearest Forth Bike station and walked them through a step-by-step demonstration on how to operate the Forth Bikes and support them overcome any unknown first steps. We’ve also created a visual resource to help anyone using Forth Bike for the first time.

Jasem's and Harroun's tell us about their experience

Today, two weeks later, Harry met two of the men who received a voucher to discuss their experience so we can work to provide any additional support they might need. None of them has reported any issues while using the Forth Bikes and they absolutely love having access to the scheme.

Enough from us, though. Read how the vouchers have impacted Harroun’s and Jasem’s daily life.

"Cycling is really important to me and I’m grateful for this opportunity. I have started attending English classes at Forth Valley College and having the option to use the electric Forth Bikes, not only can I get there faster, but I also arrive there without being exhausted from cycling. I love the freedom this scheme is offering – cycling cheaply is amazing! I’m also using the Forth Bikes for my own leisure. I love cycling around the cycle paths in Falkirk. I feel it is helping my mental wellbeing as it makes me feel really good. Spending time cycling outdoors helps a lot. I am glad for this because, before getting the voucher, I wasn’t able to do these things." - Harroun

"The Forth Bikes changed my daily life. I have the chance to explore Falkirk area using an electric bike, which I absolutely love. I really enjoy cycling around Callendar park and to the Kelpies. Union Canal is also a nice route but there isn’t any docking stations near there. I also used it once to go to a doctor’s appointment at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert as I know there is a docking station at the main entrance of the Hospital. Thank you very much for this opportunity and hopefully more people get to experience all the benefits this scheme offers." - Jasem

If you are interested in trying out the Forth Bike scheme, you can find more information on our website.
If you’re on low-income or currently unemployed, please contact Harry at harry@forthenvironmentlink.org to discuss our voucher subsidy scheme.