Good practice:

Cycle-R services

Cycle-R is a charity based in Cannock.
Through recycling donated bikes, they provide training, qualifications and work experience to long-term unemployed and youths with the aim of getting them back to work.
They are part of the Building Better Opportunities – Evolve Programme that aims to support several local projects to help participants with multiple barriers to regain confidence and find a job. The programme, through Cycle-R, offers:
 Training in a wide range of skills including Bicycle Workshop, Stores, Retail; level 1 and 2 Qualifications;
 Work Experience in a live environment.
In addition to this, two of Cycle-R’s Trustees have co-chaired the Bicycle Mechanic Trailblazer Group that has been creating the new Apprenticeship standard for cycle mechanics in the UK.
They provide low-cost, high quality refurbished bikes to low-income families and persons who may need them. They rent bikes for £3 per day, sell reconditioned bikes from £40 and provide maintenance services.
They offer their facilities at a discounted rate to people who want to repair their own bike, but lack the facilities or need support. In this way, they will have access to their full professional tool kits with a trained mechanic on hand to assist.
They encourage cycling as a sport around Cannock, including the provision and maintenance of facilities for bicycling and the offer of information about cycling locally.
They provide recycling facilities for items that would otherwise be scrapped.

They have the support of benefactors. Currently 11 people run the place: 2 in Admin & Customer Service; 1 in Finance; 1 in Store; 2 mechanics in the Workshop; 5 trustees who also look after IT, sales, fundraising, social and community aspects, publicity, HR. Some volunteers work for them too.

In addition to certain achievements (like people helped in employment, cycle-safety training in 2 schools, over 1200 bikes sold to those in a disadvantage), they don’t keep specific statistics regarding cycle use. However, since the COVID-19 crisis, sales have increased 270% and talking to those who have been buying the bikes, approximately 60% of them are as a replacement for public transport. In real terms, they sold 187 bikes, and 112 of those were for commuting and/or transport replacement.

The main challenges are making their services known to the community and getting enough funds to cover general operational costs of bicycle refurbishment, unfunded training, support of volunteers and those on low incomes.

The practice is interesting as:
- it supports cycling entrepreneurship, therefore reinforces sustainable development and mobility by encouraging a cycling culture;
- it offers services linked to cycling at a cheap price and therefore encourage people to move to a non-motorised travel (cycling);
- it supports the ecology of the local area by recycling donated bikes.