MORE grants are to be awarded in the initial round of a government lottery which subsidises the cost of e-bikes after nearly 2,000 Islanders applied to the scheme’s first draw.
The £300,000 initiative involves vouchers ranging between £300 and £600 being awarded to randomly chosen applicants.
Islanders were recently invited to apply for the first tranche of tickets, with further draws due to be made each quarter until the end of 2024.
Initially, 100 winners were to be chosen at random for the first event. However, after receiving more than 1,800 applications, the government has decided to ‘allocate more awards to this quarter’, meaning more than 200 Islanders will receive a voucher. The total number of vouchers awarded during the scheme will remain unchanged.
Assistant Environment Minister Hilary Jeune, who has responsibility for energy and climate change, said: ‘I am really impressed and so pleased with the response to the first application window of our e-bike grant scheme, particularly the high interest in e-cargo bikes and adapted e-cycles.
‘To meet this demand, I am allocating more awards to this quarter, which means over 200 Islanders will be receiving an email to confirm their application was successful. Low-carbon transport options such as e-bikes have an important role to play in reducing Jersey’s greenhouse gas emissions, and the high interest in the scheme shows the demand for e-bikes locally, and the readiness from Islanders to make positive changes to help the environment.’
Those who do not win a voucher in this quarter’s draw can reapply in April.
The £300,000 allocated to the scheme came from the Climate Emergency Fund, which is specifically designed to meet the commitments in the Carbon Neutral Roadmap and reduce carbon emissions.
Deputy Jeune added: ‘It’s great to see some of the local bike shops responding to Islanders’ enthusiasm by introducing deals on e-bikes.
‘This will hopefully make buying an e-bike even more accessible, even without the grant.’
