Buy Back Cycle Scheme in Norwich
With the help of CIVITAS funding staff and students are set to benefit from a scheme which allows them to buy a bike and when they no longer need it, sell it back! Alternatively they can keep it forever! The flexible cycle lease back scheme provides good quality affordable cycles, complete with mudguards, rack and lock ready for commuting and complements the try-before-you-buy cycle loan scheme and salary sacrifice scheme which enables staff members to gain tax benefits when purchasing a bike.
The scheme was launched during Green Travel Week as part of “big bike day” and nearly all of the available cycles were sold by the end of the day. The scheme is of particular value to students who have had no alternative other than to purchase cycles privately; some of which have been old and not well maintained or roadworthy. The buy-back scheme allows students to buy either a new or well maintained second-hand cycle at a fixed rate and the University guarantees to buy it back up to 9 months after the purchase for a set fee. This scheme ensures cycles are ready and available when students arrive at the University and avoids the inevitable question of what to do with the cycle when they leave, a particular problem for International students and those visiting on short term placement. The University hopes that this scheme will also reduce the number of bikes abandoned each year which need to be re-cycled.The scheme has been well received, with returning students and “freshers” (first year students) registering their interest in purchasing a bike at the start of the next academic year.
