Businesses across the Granite city will be given access to a series of eco-friendly bikes in a bid to stem carbon emissions.
After receiving a grant of £25,000 from Transport Scotland, Nestrans is planning to roll out a series of e-bikes to businesses throughout the city.
The transport partnership between city and shire councils has procured six of these vehicles, which should be ready for a late March or early April launch.
Businesses will be offered the opportunity to trial the bikes for a 12-month period if their initial application is successful.
Local authority leaders hope the initiative will encourage other businesses to consider purchasing their own e-cargo bikes for their business needs and help reduce the city centre’s growing carbon footprint.
All of the bikes will come equipped with lights, Nestrans branding and a garmin device which will be able to monitor their activity across the city.
The GPS device will allow council chiefs to accurately measure the vehicles’ carbon footprint and whether or not they have had a notable effect on its reduction.
After purchasing the bikes, Nestrans will charge the cost back to Aberdeen City Council, who have received the funding grant from Transport Scotland.
Ownership of the bikes will remain with the city council after the initial 12-month pilot scheme with local businesses.
Council bosses have been looking at a number of options for a Low Emission Zone in Aberdeen.
It’s hoped the LEZ will be phased in later this year, and will most likely be placed in the city centre due in part to the poor quality of the air in the area.
It comes after figures from NHS Grampian estimated that 180 people die in the region every year as a direct result of air pollution.
Updates for a sorely missed Aberdeenshire bridge were also discussed at yesterday’s Nestrans meeting.
After searching for alternative funding, the group announced that £343,180 has been awarded for the replacement of the north Fordoun structure.
