Back in January 2013, the Wheels to Work Association was born with the backing of the MCIA. Since then the scheme has proved to be quite a success, helping many people to get from A to B. Now it seems that many local schemes are struggling with getting the necessary funding to keep going. Although struck by a financial shortfall, perhaps due to the pandemic, some local schemes are still running so check out your local area, if you are interested, to see if there is one where you are which is still operational.

The idea of W2W came about because many areas of the country have gaps in public transport which make it hard for people to get to work. Nowadays there is a new factor, people don't seem to be as keen to travel and commute on public transport but are opting to use their own wheels as a COVID safety measure.
Nowadays there is a new factor, people don't seem to be as keen to travel and commute on public transport but are opting to use their own wheels as a covid safety measure. So in order to help people who need to get to work or college but can't afford to buy and run a car, motorcycle or scooter of their own, the Wheels2Work (W2W) scheme aims to hire them out a motorcycle, scooter or electric motorcycle to use for their journey. This is obviously a handy solution to the problem of getting around for those who can't afford to buy their own transport and gives them the flexibility to travel to their destination for the lowest cost and without the responsibilities and expense of owning their own machine.

W2W schemes operate locally and vary in each area, but the idea is to give eligible participants training and then access to hiring a small scooter or bike so that they can get established at a workplace or access training. Here's an example of a W2W scheme operating successfully in Derbyshire.
Of course in the modern world things move fast and now many participating local authorities are going electric and heading towards a transition to an electric fleet in the near future.
W2W is such a great idea and although it is struggling in some areas, we wish all the schemes the best of luck to keep going and keep folks on two wheels.

If you have used or know anything about a local scheme near you then we'd love to hear about it, email us at [email protected] or drop us a message on Facebook.