Borrowing an e-cargo bike
Our cargo bikes are available for the community to borrow for free*. They are a great alternative to cars for transporting children, groceries and other medium-sized loads within the city. By using a cargo bike, you are helping to decarbonise transport as well as making the city more liveable.
We currently have a Tern Quick Haul Long and a Riese & Müller Packster 70 available for loans. For more information on the bikes we have, go to our BANZAI Bikes Inventory page.
If you’re interested in using the bike library sometime, either joining now or perhaps in the future, please help us develop it in the best way possible by filling in our short Introductory Survey as well as joining.
Please note: In joining and using the library you will receive emails with the Subject starting ‘BANZAI Bikes’. They will come from both these addresses: ‘donotreply@myturn.com’ and ‘banzaibikelibrary@gmail.com’. Check your Spam folder for them if necessary.
What’s involved?
So that we can keep track of who is borrowing which bike, we need you to register as a member of the bike library. This is a one-off process, but involves a few steps. After you have entered your account information, you will receive more information via an email, and that will take you to a point where you can reserve a bike.
In the first instance, we’re offering loans of up to a day, 7 days a week, where pick-up and return times are arranged with the Librarian, within our opening hours. However, we want to be flexible, so if you’d like a longer loan please email us on banzaibikelibrary@gmail.com and we can discuss.
Absolutely! Both the Packster and the Tern will carry up to two children. On the Tern, younger children will need to use a child seat and adaptor which we can provide.
Our insurance only covers the bike itself. If you want accident insurance for yourself, this is something you will have to take care of, for example via Cycling UK.
Assuming it’s just a one day loan, we’ll charge the battery for you. If it’s a longer loan, we’ll lend you the charger and show you how to use it at your home.
Please specify the time you would like for collection and drop off in the request ‘Notes’ when you make a reservation. Then we’ll get in touch with you to confirm the time and exact central Bruntsfield location for pick-up and drop-off.
The first time you borrow each bike we’ll give you an induction session (15-45 minutes), and only send you off with it when you feel confident and we’re happy with your skills.
Our Funding
We’re funded by The National Lottery Community Fund, through the Awards for All programme.
Start-up funding came from the City of Edinburgh Community Grants Fund for Morningside Ward and from the Edinburgh Communities Climate Action Network (ECCAN) GreenLight Fund. We’re also very grateful to Cargo Bike Movement (now part of The Bike Station) for their ongoing support and advice, and to Porty Community Energy for their inspiration and advice.
*Donate to support BANZAI Bikes
No-one is required to pay to borrow one of our bikes; it’s a free community service. However,  there are costs and grant funding is very competitive. If you feel like you want to, and can afford to, we offer you the chance to make a contribution towards running costs using our Donate page. If you choose to donate, please mention ‘Bike Library’ in the Comments box and we’ll know to assign the money appropriately. There really is no expectation that you will contribute, but every little helps.