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A new electric bike share scheme has launched – a first for the Island – with a fleet of three electric bikes hitting the streets of Newport this week. Wight Cycle Hire Ltd, with support from the Isle of Wight Council, has provided e-bikes, to the Isle of Wight Education Federation (IWEF) to enable car free staff journeys between Carisbrooke College, Medina College and the VI Form Campus in central Newport. This innovative scheme will see school staff swapping cars for electric bikes for the journey between campuses, contributing to reduced local congestion and carbon emissions. The project is supported by the Isle of Wight Council’s Sustainable Travel Access Fund programme, using funding which was secured competitively from the Department for Transport to deliver a wider programme of sustainable transport interventions being delivered through to April 2020. Ross Edmunds, schools project manager at Wight Cycle Hire Ltd, said: “We’re delighted to support the IWEF with the launch of the Island’s first electric bike share scheme. We have worked closely with them to deliver a scheme which meets the needs of its staff. “In researching the scheme, we identified that between Medina College and VI Form campus, nearly 40 per cent of staff travel between the campuses each week, with 97 per cent currently using a private car. We anticipate that the electric bikes will replace up to 4,000 car journeys each year.” Matthew Parr-Burman, executive headteacher and head of school for Carisbrooke College and Isle of Wight Education Federation, said: “I am confident that this scheme will be popular amongst staff. Like all organisations, the IWEF has a desire to reduce its carbon footprint and using electric bikes for journeys between campuses is a great way of contributing to this reduction. The scheme will also contribute to staff wellbeing and may even deliver quicker journey times between sites.” For further information on current sustainable transport schools projects, please contact: [email protected]