Social care and community development charity, Carr Gomm, are making a brilliant transition to active, sustainable travel. Carr Gomm staff in Lochgilphead have moved from cars to electric bikes to cover their locality and visit the many local residents they support.

An eCargo bike trial from ACT and an ebike trial from the Ardrishaig Bothy allowed Carr Gomm staff to determine what worked best on the various routes around Lochgilphead and Ardrishaig and for the work that they did. The Lochgilphead office has now purchased the best ebikes for their needs.

David Halfpenny, Carr Gomm Learning & Development Manager, who is leading this initiative said, ‘At Carr Gomm we have been considering introducing different modes of transport for our support practitioners for a while now. The pandemic meant our conversations gathered pace and led us to partnering with ACT and Cycling UK. Their support and guidance have been essential to our success in adopting sustainable transport options. We look forward to rolling out ebikes to our services across Argyll and Bute and beyond’.

The ACT Now Project has been delighted to be able to support Carr Gomm in its move to pedal power. The ACT Now project has delivered Essential Cycling Skills to staff to give the necessary on-road abilities, demonstrating practical roadside repairs, and is developing a bicycle maintenance schedule to ensure staff can always get the best from their ebikes.

Regarding Carr Gomm’s sustainable travel efforts, Jamie Joyce, Project Officer for ACT Now, said, ‘It is a great initiative, better for the health and wellbeing of staff, and with the car reduction, for the climate. Huge credit must go to Carr Gomm Lochgilphead for this pioneering work. I look forward to extending the support of the ACT Now Project to Carr Gomm Rothesay staff in the near future. The ACT Now project priority is to ensure staff are fully empowered and enabled to cycle with the knowledge and application of road safety and the abilities to deal with road side repairs, for example.”

To find out how ACT Now can support your business, organisation, or sector travel sustainably contact the ACT Now Project at [email protected]. All training and support is delivered by a Cycling Scotland qualified Cycle Trainer and a Gold standard Velotech cycle technician.

The ACT Now project is funded by the Scottish Government's Climate Challenge Fund.