Free bicycles for job-seekers in Greater Manchester
Bikes and travel advice for job seekers funded by the Local Sustainable Transport Fund.
| Location of intervention | Greater Manchester |
| Contractor/delivery partner | Transport for Greater Manchester |
| Scheme implementation dates | 2011-2015 |
| Cost of scheme | £6.4 million for wider scheme |
| Funding source | Local Sustainable Transport Fund-Department for Transport |
| BCR | 1.5 for wider scheme |
Why we did it
The Department for Transport have identified that a lack of suitable or affordable transport is a key barrier to entering work, this is because 77% of jobseekers in British cities outside London do not have regular access to a car, this proportion rises to 87% in young adults. Only a small proportion of unemployed or low-income earners had access to a bike.
How we did it
The department set out to remove these transport barriers via the Local Sustainable Transport Fund. As part of this programme, the Bike Back to Work scheme aimed to increase access to emission-free transport by enabling jobseekers to become economically active and to accept jobs that would have previously been inaccessible. This scheme also has associated health improvements whilst offsetting the environmental concerns of a larger workforce.
What we did
Over the course of the Bike Back to Work scheme, around 300 job-seekers a year received a free refurbished bike and accessories.
Over 600 frontline job-centre staff also received travel training to act as champions and over 14,000 job-seekers received journey planning advice within job-centres.
What impact did it have
In a follow-up report, 90% of job-seekers taking part in the scheme said the bike enabled them to get to work and 80% said that they now had an increased knowledge of how to travel to where the jobs are. 59% of people who received a bike during the scheme started to cycle when they had not previously done so.
100% of job centre advisors said that after the travel training they felt confident in assisting jobseekers with travel compared to just 57% before the training.
Transport for Greater Manchester have considered this service a success and have continued to provide around 350 bikes to job-seekers and apprentices each year.
Key figures
- 90% of job-seekers taking part in the scheme said the bike enabled them to get to work
- 100% of job centre advisors said that after the travel training they felt confident in assisting jobseekers with travel
- 350 bikes to job-seekers and apprentices each year