North West cycle training organisation BikeRight! celebrates its strongest financial year with a 2014-15 turnover of £2.6m, reflecting renewed public interest and a wider Government commitment to cycling .
The limited company started life in the basement room of company directors Liz Clarke and Jo Somerset. Twelve years on BikeRight! now offers cycle training and bike maintenance courses for commuters throughout the UK. Encouraging people to cycle reduces the cost of travel and levels of pollution while improving the health and wellbeing of communities.
The company has passed some significant milestones since launching in 2003:
- Half a million schoolchildren on Bikeability courses run by BikeRight! trained instructors across the UK
- 150 staff employed on a mix of full time, part time and freelance contracts across 4 offices, in Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Newcastle
- 7000 adults on Freewheeling adult training courses
- Over 3000 Cycling Instructors have qualified with BikeRight!
- Over 3000 bike maintenance trainees
- Staff at 200 businesses have cycled 322,000 miles, saved 141 tonnes of CO2 equivalent, burnt 8.6 million calories and saved £118,000 in travel costs after involvement with BikeRight!
- 3000 drivers received Safe Urban Driving training with BikeRight!
Liz Clarke, managing director, says,
“BikeRight!'s growth over the last 12 years mirrors the increased awareness of cycling by government, the public and most recently, the logistics industry. In 2005 our major focus was Bikeability training for schoolchildren; today, we've become the experts providing cycle and bike maintenance training services to new markets in the UK and Europe such as the police, holiday companies and the health service.
“Every day new cyclists, stimulated by the surge of public interest in cycling, join the traffic with confidence thanks to BikeRight! We've succeeded in securing significant contracts for bicycle fleet maintenance and safe urban driving to add to our existing portfolio of cycle training for children, adults and instructors.”
A recent survey of 1500 Freewheeling adult cycling trainees underlines the value of cycling to the wider local economy. The survey reveals that there was a 200% increase in people using their bicycles as their regular travel to work mode.
Having around 230 people now cycling to work on a regular basis could benefit Greater Manchester to the tune of £275,000 in health, congestion and pollution savings and would justify £2.1million expenditure on cycling infrastructure, facilities and promotional activities.
BikeRight!’s awards and accreditations for its work include:
- Accredited Instructor Training Organisation (ITO) by Department for Transport
- E3 Awards Outstanding Women in Business 2014 (MD, Liz Clarke)
- Active Training Awards Finalist 2015
- BikeBiz Awards 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 Finalist
- Investors in People
- Living Wage Employer Mark
- The Equality Register Member
- Birmingham Business Charter for Social Responsibility