Council says staff benefit from using e-cargo bikes

Using electric cargo bikes has reduced journey times and brought health and wellbeing benefits for Highland Council staff, the local authority has said.

Some workers have been using the bikes, which have an in-built storage area, in a pilot project that started last April.

Fort William Child Health, Highland Archive Service and an Inverness-based roads staff have been among the teams involved in the trial.

Highland Council said feedback suggested e-cargo bikes were preferred to using other forms of transport, but it added there were challenges around storing bikes and charging them.

In a report, officials said benefits of the scheme included reduced travel times, fewer trips using other vehicles and better health and wellbeing.

But they added challenges included insurance restricting staff to using the bikes for work-related purposes and not for commuting.

The report said: "It should be noted that these challenges are not unique to Highland, with other local authorities highlighting the same issues which are having a significant impact on the success of e-cargo bike schemes.

"Servicing and maintenance of e-bikes and e-cargo bikes also needs to be addressed."

Councillors are due to discuss the report at the council's climate change committee next week.

The committee is also to consider a report warning of "limited progress" in some areas of Highland Council's wider effort to achieve net zero.

Net zero means no longer adding to the total amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

The local authority has been trying to do this through various initiatives including greater use of electric vehicles and renewable energy for heating its properties.

Officials said one area not progressing as planned was embedding net zero into the council's capital programme, which is its planned investment in buildings, roads and equipment.