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Published as part of the Keep Colchester Cycling project.

Putting in place a bike pool project around Colchester is the central theme to our Keep Colchester Cycling scheme. Therefore we were most interested in the presentation given by Harvey Panrucker of Essex County Council at the recent Travel Plan conference held at Essex University.

Harvey is responsible for putting in place a bike pool plan for employees of ECC. We had much to learn from his experience and approach to promoting cycling as a realistic form of local transport.

We heard how there is a cycle lock up facility underneath County Hall in Chelmsford with a capacity for 240 bicycles. Showers and a secure lock up facility are also provided, yet at its peak last summer, Harvey was surprised that only 140 bikes were in place.

Clearly some barriers were in place that stopped employees from thinking about using bicycles as the best form of transport during the working day. The challenge for Harvey and his team was how to actively promote cycling within County Hall.

Local research suggested that there was a perception that cycling is a time drain, as well as being physically uncomfortable. Harvey decided that the best way to disprove these theories was to offer for free the use of bicycles paid for by the County Council.

A small bike pool was established, with all employees encouraged to use a bike for free for up to four weeks. Put briefly, the aim was for council staff to fall in love with cycling, with a little bit of a helping hand from their employer.

Many staff attend off site meetings throughout the working day. Typically these are three - five miles outside of County Hall. Harvey decided that this was to be the main push to help promote cycling. With no traffic obstructions or hold ups to block a route, a cyclist knows pretty much for sure the exact time it will take to reach a destination.

The ECC bike pool scheme was such a success that by the end of the year, the underground lock up was completely full. Having been given the option to experiment with cycling, staff voted with their feet and took to two wheels rather than four. The ECC fleet has now been expanded, with even a car park being converted into yet more cycle storage space.

The ambitions of the bike pool plan however stepped up another level when Harvey decided to promote the project with partners of the council. A local garage that supplies parts for council vehicles was approached. This was an atypical cycling friendly environment. If the car mechanics could be persuaded to cycle, then a bike pool can be used as a means to an end in helping to promote sustainable transport.

After a great deal of early cynicism and mocking from the mechanics, the business soon found that staff members loved the idea of cycling during the working day. The bicycles lent by Harvey and his team proved difficult to be returned, such was the keenness of the business to embrace the bike.

Colchester Borough Council and the Colchester Institute are the next working partners that ECC wants to try and convert to a cycling lifestyle in the workplace.

We greatly enjoyed the evangelism that Harvey put across about a bike pool scheme. We firmly believe here at Keep Colchester Cycling that there is a demand for a bike pool for the pubic to use around the town. We hope that the ECC experience will soon be transferred to our hometown.