In March Cargo Bike Movement (CBM) will take their bikes to St Margaret’s Park in Corstorphine for anyone who wants to have a shot, but they also have a longer term scheme which allows individuals and families or businesses to find out if a cargo bike is good for them.
The group is one which arose during the pandemic. It was set up informally in 2020 by Active Nation Commissioner, Lee Craigie and her fellow cycle adventurer, Alice Lemkes, who both had cargo bikes and who wanted to do something useful with them.
The pair had in 2019 ridden cargo bikes from Edinburgh to Copenhagen accompanied by two other women, aiming to arrive just before midnight on Hogmanay. Riding in pairs they took it in turns to be cosied down in the front of the bike or in the saddle. The pair of adventurers built up connections with people in Edinburgh around food collections at the start of the pandemic, and could be spotted cycling their bikes carrying food all over the city. Over time volunteers got in touch to offer their help and Naomi Arnold was one of those.
Now she is the CBM Project Manager. She realised that the organisation might just fizzle out last summer, and that it would be a pity to lose the momentum that had built up. As someone who used to work in the environmental charity sector for around seven years, Naomi offered to write a funding application to Paths for All which resulted in her having a full time job.
In the wake of the Edinburgh Cycle Hire Scheme folding, £75,000 of council funding was awarded to CBM to develop their service. They lend out cargo bikes from their base in Tollcross.
Naomi explained how welcome the funding was at this time. She said: “The reason that the funding from the City Council is so crucial as because we can use that money, as match funding for our Paths for All application, which means we can get basically double. If we are successful, we will get around £120,000.”
Additional funding would mean that the organisation can recruit a project coordinator to work alongside Naomi and that they might also look at extending into adjacent premises. CBM shares its Tollcross space with Farr Out, a city courier company which uses cargo bikes, depending on them (and a few other city cycle shops) to repair and service the bikes they now own.
Naomi explained that she would like to expand the outreach part of the project, taking the message about how useful cargo bikes can be to a variety of people and businesses. Members of the public can borrow the bikes to try them out before they buy in two ways – at the Corstorphine event they will simply be able to have a shot at riding the bike, but there is also a possibility of hiring one on a longer term basis. CBM have three bikes specifically for longer term loans thanks to funding from Energy Saving Trust.
Naomi said: “We just want people to try them. So just come along. I can train anyone who then wants to borrow one. Being able to try cargo bikes such as the one we are holding in March is really important, but for people to be able to borrow a bike from us for say a couple of months to see if it works for them is a huge game changer.”
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