Free Bikes programme funding: FOI release
- Published
- 7 July 2025
- Topic
- Public sector, Transport
- FOI reference
- FOI/202500466775
- Date received
- 19 May 2025
- Date responded
- 5 June 2025
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Information requested
How much money has been used on the free bikes partnership in each of the last five years, breakdown by year and how many bikes have been purchased?
Response
The total cost of the Free Bikes programme since inception in August 2021 is £9,419,808. This can be broken down by year as follows:
August 2021 - March 2023 (Free Bikes Pilot Programme): £4,367,055
April 2023 - March 2024 (Free Bikes Partnership): £900,000
April 2024 - March 2025 (People and Place Programme): £4,152,753
A total of 13,244 bikes have been distributed during this time - This includes bikes purchased as part of fleets, for example by schools, and used by multiple children for purposes such as cycle training.
The independent evaluation of the free bikes pilot programme was published in January 2023. The evaluation can be found at the following link: Evaluation of Free Bikes Pilots for School Age Children Who Cannot Afford Them - Final Evaluation Report | Transport Scotland
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Correspondence Unit
Email: contactus@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG