CTW scheme, how successful

[carolonabike]

I don't really have much to add that hasn't already been said. I was already a cyclist with a very old bike; the CTW gave me the impetus to get a new bike and since then I've become a regular commuter, which I don't think I would have on my old bike.

Having said that, out of the four of us who signed up I'm the only one who uses it for work. That may change when the weather improves and the evenings are light again.

I'm hoping that seeing me on a bike may encourage a couple of women I work with to think that exercise is something they could do too (they really need to do something) and it would be nice if seeing a female commuter (pretty rare in my neck of the woods) made more women think "I could do that".

 

[Adasta]

I'm hoping that seeing me on a bike may encourage a couple of women I work with to think that exercise is something they could do too (they really need to do something)

 

[redjedi]

You can't buy a superbike for £1000 so I doubt it.

I've had 2 bikes through the scheme (at £1000 each) thus far but I commuted by bike every day anyway so I can't say it 'encouraged' me at all.

I'm still amazed at how easy the scheme is to access and manage considering it's a government one!

Unless you company has a credit license like mine so you can spend whatever you want on a bike.
The one I've just finished paying for was £1300. My MDs full carbon off-road Specialized S-works MTB cost over £5000.

The scheme definitely got me into leisure cycling. I bought a cheap £100 mtb to do my 3 mile commute on before the scheme came into effect.
I wore that out after 6 months so the C2W helped me get a nice hybrid for £350 (a Bianchi ). It was only when I got that bike that I started doing leisure rides and moved house so I was 7 miles away from work.

Cycling is now a huge part of my life with regular weekend rides of 50+ miles and hopefully 1x 100 miler per month this year.

Not sure if I would have got into cycling that much without the scheme as I couldn't afford to spend £1000+ on a bike in one go, so it did help me, not only get into cycling but get fit, lose weight and make a lot of new friends (with the help of the the Cycle Chat rides forum)

 

[JDP]

Mr Summerdays bought his bike and started commuting - though he at first thought he would only do it on odd days in the summer when it was nice, and since then he has become a everyday all through the year cyclist. I've certainly seen posts on here where people started with the initial impetus being the CTW scheme.

The CTW scheme (kinda) worked for me.

Realising that I could get a good bike at reduced rate got me looking at new bikes and reading magazines and interested in cycling. I'm now a 5 day a week commuter and considering a 50 miles sponsored ride.

Oddly, I didn't actually 'buy' a bike on the scheme. I ended up finding a bike I liked in the end of year sales and bought it right outright as it had about £200 off the price.

 

[Norm]

Unless someone is interested in cycling or at least toying with the idea of it would they bother to peruse the benefit in detail ?

Yes, they would.

I feel that The C2W will appeal to those who would have cycled/want to cycle and would have bought a bike regardless of whether the scheme was in existence or not.

Then I hope that you read some of the other posters on this thread, who have bought a bike solely because of the existence of this scheme.

well this reply is close to what i would have figured it would be like also.

Then I hope that you too read the responses of those who have actually bought bikes and who now ride them regularly, just because of this scheme, rather than just those responses which ally with your preconceptions.

 

[Broadside]

I hadn't ridden a bike in about 15 years, then C2W came along. I bought my first bike 18 months ago and now ride 3,000 miles per year for fun. During Apr-Oct I also commute to work once a week (it's a 55 mile round trip) and in really nice weather I commute twice a week. C2W has definitely got me in to cycling and I am much fitter for it, I never dreamed of getting in to fitness for fun but it has really worked for me.

 

[native son]

Up until September last year I had not cycled for 30 years, never looked at bikes or forums like this. CTW has changed all that, by chance I looked at an e mail about the scheme and as my 4 year old had just moved from balance bike to pedals I thought I should join him. Trouble is cycling is taking over my life, lost weight, needed to. Spend too much time on forums, too much money on bike related stuff and am just preparing to attempt commute of 12 miles each way in hilly Sheffield. Perhaps I.should have just hit the delete button.

 

[g00se]

Hadn't cycles in years (student days on an old Peugeot road bike) - I was half toying with the idea but it was the C2W that really got me into it. Now a dedicated cycle-geek...

 

[adscrim]

The new rules aren't a problem.

yes you can buy the bike outright at the end of the scheme and it costs you a fortune ...or

You pay a 1 off payment to cyclescheme (mine was £67) to extend the hire period for 4 years then the bike is yours (not a single further payment to make). It doesn't even stop you getting another bike on the scheme straight away.

Superb!

This isn't the case. The HMRC valuation matrix is for tax purposes and is not required to be the purchase price of the bike. As long as you are taxed in accordance with the value defined by the matrix, the purchase value can be a nominal amount.

We had a limited uptake of the C2W scheme in our office. I think there were 6 bikes purchased, of which one guy commutes ca once a week in the summer and one woman has used it to commute once in total. However, I think the other 4 have been using the bikes for leisure rides. I already had a bike and so used the scheme to spend £500 on accessories.

 

[John the Monkey]

You can't buy a superbike for £1000 so I doubt it.

A relative description - thinking of stuff like the £1000 TT bike Planet X used to do with an eye to C2W purchase, although to be fair, that was a bit ago.

 

[jethro10]

Yes, they would.

Then I hope that you read some of the other posters on this thread, who have bought a bike solely because of the existence of this scheme.

Then I hope that you too read the responses of those who have actually bought bikes and who now ride them regularly, just because of this scheme, rather than just those responses which ally with your preconceptions.

well actually I think I've probably asked the wrong question in the wrong place, or the responses have got off what I was after finding.
Kinda off topic, but it just shows how statistic can say what you want. For instance here, all the failures wont even read this so wont reply, as they don't cycle any more and it's a bit one sided.

I wonder if there is any real stats anywhere to show how it's doing? some kind of health, or perhaps business forum.
Probably not, as how many will admit to fiddling, or failing!
Probably I'll never know.......
And to me it's strange that you have to be lucky your company does this. It's kinda wrong really, that so many don't get the chance to try, almost discrimination really. Quite a shame.
Wow, i'm getting way to philosophical for 10Am on a Monday..

Jeff

 

[Norm]

I agree, it's very wrong that you have to be lucky, and luckier still if your company implements an easy version, the way that one of my former employers did it was shockingly complex, resulting in a 0% take-up amongst their thousands of staff.

As for the take-up in general, anecdotal evidence from various LBSs suggest it has been excellent, although that's just on the purchase, not the use.

 

[summerdays]

I don't see how we will ever know the correct figures because even if you did a survey in the work place, nobody is going to say that they bought their bike and have only used it for leisure rides as then wouldn't they become liable for the for the bit they have saved as they wouldn't have met the rules of the scheme.

Some schemes aren't that well thought out ... at Mr Summerdays place they have offered the BTW scheme twice now, but there isn't actually anywhere safe to lock up the bikes which probably discourages some from cycling in. There are some stands in an area that isn't overlooked and can easily be got at (Mr Summerdays bike was tampered with on more than one occasion until he stopped leaving it there), and so Mr Summerdays just locks his to a huge column on the building. As the building is rented the management don't seem to be keen to pay for proper stands to be installed in a better place.

 

[maat1976]

I was actively encouraged by company to enroll in the CTW scheme. They also have a bike ambulance come around once a month to give us tune ups and random fixes while we're at work, which is a nice perk as well. I was hoping to do a second one now that I'm ready to upgrade but the company has decided only work with Halfords unfortunately.

My husband is also considering it. He was lent a bike for a few months to see if he would like cycling enough to do the scheme and we're now looking for a bike for him as well.

 

[col1888]

Got my CUBE Ltd Team MTB last year and saved about £300. Thinking of getting a CUBE Attempt this year to replace my Giant Defy 3. So works for me ! Quite a few at our place do it, not sure how many commute. Many don't and use them mainly for leisure, but if it gets people cycling one way or another , it's all good ! Nobody checks if you commute, bonus !