A NEW fleet of electronic bicycles has been launched in Malvern.

The E-bikes are part of a scheme to help solve the district's transport problems and have been launched jointly by Malvern Hills District Council and Malvern Hills Car Club.

To join the scheme, which has been funded with £22,800 from MHDC, participants need to be aged 16 or over, live or work/train in the Malvern Hills District and have a firm offer from a workplace, training scheme or college course.

It is also available to young people already in work or college who are at risk of losing a job or placement due to transport difficulties.

Robin Coates, co-founder of Malvern Hills Community Car Club, said: "We have been helping residents in the Malvern area since 2009 to see just how wonderful E-bikes are for making everyday trips easy, pleasant and healthy.

"We have done this by providing good E-bikes for short term loans.

"With this grant we can now start to help people use E-bikes to get to work and they can hire an E-bike for longer periods.

"We think this will be particularly helpful to young people starting work or further education.

"There are so many that either live in rural areas where there is no transport at the times they need it or live in towns but want to work in rural areas."

Transport options are often more limited for people living in rural areas of the district as bus services are not always available and not everyone can afford to own and run a car.

There are a limited number of electric bicycles available now and the priority is to support apprentices overcome any transport barriers they may have. There is a small loan charge of £15 a week.

Cllr Daniel Walton, portfolio holder for economic development and tourism, said: “There are many well-known benefits to E-bikes, from environmental to health, but for us, this is a great opportunity to work with Malvern Hills Car Clubs and offer an affordable transport solution to help people access work and training."