Pictured above: Community warden Cheryl Maxim with the electric bike

A pioneering borough council is adopting power assisted cycling for community wardens to improve efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint created by vans.  

East Staffordshire Borough Council has invested in an Infineum Extreme LPX, with a potential range of 60 miles to enable wardens to travel economically through the borough's rural sites. 

Supplied by Lichfield-based electric bike specialist PowaStation with a full accessories package, including an additional battery, the electric bike enables staff to cover far greater distances than using a traditional cycle. Tackling steep hills with a twist of a throttle, the Infineum Extreme LPX also ensures wardens do not exhaust themselves simply travelling around and has a much lower carbon footprint and cost than a car or van.

East Staffordshire Borough Council's climate change and adaptation officer Peter Robinson said: "We're committed to protecting the environment and promoting sustainability, but we need to find reliable and sustainable ways to save carbon, congestion and cost while making it easier for staff to carry out their work effectively and efficiently. By using an electric bike rather than a van to travel from site to site, our community wardens are more accessible and visible to the public. It's also fun to ride as well as being kinder to the rural environments that we are trying to enhance."

PowaStation director Graham Green added: "The Infineum Extreme LPX is a reliable, powerful bike that will serve this energetic team well. Local authorities have many challenges in this age of austerity, but small changes like this can help save costs as well as helping them meet environmental targets. PowaStation can offer valuable travel planning consultancy and free trials to any local authority looking to build the business case for switching from their expensive road fleet to the more sustainable electric bike pools."