Government of Jersey

E-bike subsidy scheme publicising (FOI)

Produced by the Freedom of Information office
Authored by Government of Jersey and published on 11 July 2024.
Prepared internally, no external costs.

Request

Since the e-bike subsidy scheme went from a lottery to first come first served, what activities has the Government of Jersey undertaken to publicise the scheme?

Please list the activities against the month they were undertaken to the present day.

Response

A decision was taken to award e-bike vouchers on a first come first served basis from October 2023 onwards. This followed the first three releases (January, April and July 2023), being awarded on a lottery basis after a fixed application period. This change was intended to encourage higher levels of voucher redemption. The releases in October 2023 and March 2024 were both run on a first come first served basis.

Vouchers were issued directly to successful applicants to use within a 90-day period. Details of approved participating retailers were available via the link below. On 21 and 22 May 2024 all holders of unredeemed e-bike vouchers were sent a personal email reminder that their vouchers were due to expire on 26 June.

E-bike Grant Scheme (gov.je)

The Government of Jersey undertook the following activities to raise awareness of the e-bike grant scheme following the adoption of a first come first served basis for voucher allocation:

Media Releases and “Notes to Media”

October 2023:

13/10/23: News Release issued via the Government of Jersey’s Press Office, please see the following link:

E-bike application window to operate on first-come, first-served basis (gov.je)

February 2024:

29/02/24: Note to Media issued via the Government of Jersey’s Press Office:

The Minister for the Environment, Deputy Steve Luce, has confirmed an updated timetable for the release of the Government of Jersey’s remaining e-bike vouchers.
There will be two further opportunities to apply for the subsidies in 2024.
Vouchers for £300 for a standard e-bike, £600 for an e-cargo bike, and £600 for an adapted e-cycle are backed by the Climate Emergency Fund, which supports the policies of the Carbon Neutral Roadmap to speed up the adoption of electric vehicles and reduce Jersey's transport-related emissions. The Carbon Neutral Roadmap allocated a total of £300,000 to the scheme for its two-year duration. Around £130,000 of the initial £300,000 has already supported Islanders with purchases.
The next batch of vouchers will go live (as per the link below) at midday on Tuesday 19 March 2024 on a “first come, first served” basis.
E-bike Grant Scheme (gov.je)
Any remaining funding will then be made available in a further application window opening on Monday 8 July 2024.

March 2024:

18/03/24 Note to Media issued via the Government of Jersey’s Press Office:

The next batch of vouchers to support Islanders with the purchase of an e-bike will be available for applications from tomorrow (Tuesday 19 March) at midday.
It’s one of two application windows in 2024 and will be run on a first come, first served basis.
Vouchers for £300 for a standard e-bike, £600 for an e-cargo bike, and £600 for an adapted e-cycle are backed by the Climate Emergency Fund, which supports the policies of the Carbon Neutral Roadmap to speed up the adoption of electric vehicles and reduce Jersey's transport-related emissions. The Carbon Neutral Roadmap allocated a total of £300,000 to the scheme for its two-year duration. Around £130,000 of the initial £300,000 has already supported Islanders with purchases.
There are a total of 725 vouchers available in this window. Applications can be made via:
E-bike Grant Scheme (gov.je) 
Any remaining funding will then be made available in a further application window opening on Monday 8 July 2024

Resulting media coverage

Examples of media coverage generated during the timeframe (since October 2023) include:

E-bike voucher lottery scrapped for 'first-come, first-served' scheme (bailiwickexpress.com)

New first-come-first-served system for e-bike vouchers - (jerseyeveningpost.com)

Jersey set to re-open e-bike voucher scheme - BBC News (bbc.co.uk)

Islanders in Jersey can apply for e-bike vouchers - BBC News (bbc.co.uk)

Penultimate e-bike voucher application window opens today (bailiwickexpress.com)

New application window for e-bike vouchers to open (jerseyeveningpost.com)

More E-Bike Vouchers Released (channel103.com)

Social Media

Social media activity on Government of Jersey channels during the timeframe (since October 2023) include:

Total number of posts: 10