Staff and volunteers will be using e-bikes and e-cargo bikes to move around 11 National Trust sites after Raleigh donated £42,000 worth of bikes for a three-month trial. The National Trust is looking to reduce its reliance on petrol and diesel vehicles and reach net zero carbon emissions by 2030.
“An electric bike is a fun, modern solution for the National Trust to use instead of diesel-powered quad bikes, trucks and vans,” commented Edward Pegram, commercial partnership manager for Raleigh.
“Whether it’s an e-bike for staff to use to get from a visitor centre to a stately home quickly and quietly, or one of our business cargo e-bikes to transport supplies for the shop, we’re committed to helping the National Trust achieve a more environmentally friendly future.”
The bikes will be a mixture of the Raleigh Motus and Haibike’s electric mountain bikes, along with Raleigh e-cargo bikes.
They’ll be trialled at estates including Tyntesfield in North Somerset, Saltram in Devon and Blickling in Norfolk, with bikes also made available to rangers at countryside sites in Snowdonia and the central and eastern Lake District.
“The climate crisis is one of the biggest threats facing nature and heritage and reducing our own carbon footprint is a key part of how we plan to tackle it,” said Rob Rhodes, head of countryside management and rangers at the National Trust.
“As well as being a carbon-friendly means of travel, we’re hoping the e-bikes will become a talking point, giving staff an opportunity to speak with visitors about how climate change is affecting our places, and what we’re doing about it.
“Our staff and volunteers are enjoying riding the e-bikes and we have already seen a reduction in vehicle mileage and therefore a carbon saving. It’s exciting to be harnessing the latest in low carbon technology to keep our places moving.”
