6 minute read
Bikes for Good
Wheels to Work
Everyone agrees we need to get more young people onto bikes – Wheels to Work already does it
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Motorcyclists are getting older – it's become a truism over the last 20 years that fewer and fewer under 25s, or even 30s, are getting into biking. Whatever the cause – sky-high insurance premiums, busier roads, pay-as-you-go cars – the typical British motorcyclist is now in his or her fifties. But in the background, a scattering of non-profit making groups has been working hard to enable younger people to get onto two wheels, especially those on low incomes. Welcome to Wheels to Work (W2W).
There are currently 22 Wheels to Work groups across the UK – that's down from 35 a decade ago, which is partly down to cut backs in local authority spending, as most W2W schemes are part-funded by local Councils. Most of them are CICs (Community Interest Companies) which seek to cover their costs and reinvest any profit. Their aim isn't profits for shareholders, but to provide a social service.
The people they are trying to help are under 30s on a low income who don't have their own transport and struggle to get to work or college – it's no coincidence that many Wheels to Work schemes are based in the more rural counties, where commutes are typically longer and public transport almost non-existent. To fill the gap, W2W groups hire 50 or 125cc scooters or geared bikes to anyone who needs one, on a monthly package which includes insurance and servicing – Council funding and the non-profit ethos help keep costs to a minimum. Hiring a moped through a W2W can cost as little as £80 a month, which can be a godsend for cash-strapped teenagers who need their own transport.
Wheels to Work Southwest is a perfect example. It was started in 2006 when Devon motorcyclist Max Jowett (the same Max who helped restore Mary's Bantam, see page 23) amalgamated three smaller W2Ws to form Devon Wheels to Work. Since then, it's been through several ups and downs. At one point it was one of the most successful W2W schemes in the country, with about 140 50cc and 125cc scooters and bikes on the fleet, expanding into a dealership with bike and kit sales to supplement income. Unfortunately, a contentious insurance claim saw their premium leap from £350 per bike to over £1000. To afford that, the fleet had to be cut back to 70 bikes, then 50. Then in a cruel double whammy the premises were flooded, destroying a lot of stock and making staff redundant.
Undeterred, Max Jowett kept Devon W2W ticking over, servicing his existing riders on a mobile basis while gradually building the business back up again. Now, renamed W2W Southwest and with newly awarded charitable status, the group is growing, with 40 scooters on the fleet and a roll call of satisfied customers – over 5000 young riders have benefited in the last ten years.
One of them is Max's daughter Annie, who looks after the office and when she was 16 had the use of a moped to get to the nearest bus route – there are buses in rural Devon, but not everyone lives close to one. One thing has changed in the people who make use of W2W, and that's the demographic. “It's quite varied,” Annie told me. “Most of Devon W2W riders used to be
Opposite
page: w2w has been looking at electrics such as the super soco – Katie is an existing w2w rider Left: Max and Annie Jowett run w2w southwest Right: wheels to work mobilises the
young
under 25 but now many are 25-35, needing transport to get to work. One change since Covid is that about 85% of them are key workers – shop workers, warehousing, farming – who can't afford to run a car. One thing that we've had is a new wave of people who lost their jobs in the first lockdown, and with it their liftshare or whatever – they've been able to get other jobs, but still need transport.” Interestingly, about 20% of W2W Southwest riders are women, or about double the national average for PTW users.
The 125s are all very well, but do any of these people go on to buy a bigger bike? “Some do,” says Annie, “and we do encourage them to take their A2 when they're ready, but that's their choice. We also encourage riders to buy their hire bike from us when they're ready and can afford to. It's nice when that happens because they then have a sense of ownership.”
Although most W2W schemes offer mopeds as well as 125s, this one is now concentrating on the A1 class, finding that the demand for mopeds has tailed off. It's also decided to focus on scooters rather than geared bikes, using a mix of Hondas and Suzukis with a few older Yamahas. “We found that the geared bikes were more likely to get neglected,” adds Annie, “and in any case the scooters are easier to ride.” Talking of neglect, all W2W riders are trained to make basic checks – oil and tyres – themselves, but for everything else, Max or the group's mechanic comes out in the van to do it. It's worth reiterating that all of this is covered by the monthly fee – the only cost to the rider is fuel, though they do have to buy their own helmet and gloves. A loaned jacket is also part of the deal, and for a generation raised on monthly phone contracts and all-inclusive deals, you can see the attraction.
So, how much does it cost? A typical Suzuki Address or Honda Vision 125 comes in at £220 a month – it will typically be a year or two old, and the bikes are sold on at around 25,000 miles. That sounds quite mileagey for a 125 but with a complete service history and Honda/Suzuki badges they tend to have a decent resale value. Older Suzukis are available at £175 a month – they'll do the same job but might be a bit worn around the edges. Devon County Council has been a stalwart supporter of W2W (“they've been amazing,” says Annie) and still provides around 30% of the group's income – the rest comes from those monthly payments and selling ex-hire bikes. Perhaps the amazing thing is that the group manages to cover all its costs – running a fleet of 40 scooters, paying insurances, buying new bikes – all within budget, mobilising people who couldn't otherwise afford their own transport and even turning a few of them into motorcyclists. Local heroes? Absolutely.
W2W Southwest has been wary of going electric “I would like to thank Devon until recently, with smaller-batteried scooters Wheels to Work for putting unable to cope with longer commutes. But with me on their scheme and it electric scooter sales rising fast (they now make up was very sad to have to give nearly half of new moped sales) and more choice, my motorbike back. I can the group is planning to have a 25% electric fleet highly recommend them within three years. to anyone, male or female.
They're also diversifying into e-bikes (electric Many thanks.” bicycles) having just landed a contract with Kim Cornwall County Council to supply these to users on the same monthly fee basis as the 125s, as “I have never had so many well as running roadshows to demonstrate them opportunities. I can get to to employers, individuals, the police, NHS etc. Get work easily, have a good more people out of their cars and onto two wheels? social life and see my It's got to be good. girlfriend whenever I want.” Anon
