E-bikes will not come to Aberystwyth as part of a two-year e-cargo bike rental scheme launching this month.

The Sustrans scheme, which is Welsh Government funded, will see stations with eight e-cargo bikes available for free loans, by businesses, enterprises and individuals for one to three months, set up in Aberystwyth, Newtown and Swansea.

While Sustrans are delivering loan schemes of standard e-bikes, offered to the public for free one month loans, in Newtown, Rhyl, Swansea and Barry, this will not be extended to Aberystwyth.

A spokesperson for Sustrans said: “We may split the fleet across the two sites but we have not done this so far.

“The normal e-bikes are specifically targeted to deprived communities.”

Sustrans also offer support to businesses with cycle rider training, full maintenance and will explore possibilities for sharing of e-cargo bikes between enterprises.

This could mean that enterprises book an e-cargo bike for short-term use between themselves, or pool together to use one courier and e-cargo bike for their deliveries and logistics.

As a pilot project, Sustrans are undertaking research to understand the impact and use of bikes.

Sustrans are collecting data about how businesses normally operate their freight logistics, how the e-cargo bikes are used during the loan, how businesses benefit from using an e-cargo bike and the barriers experienced while using it.

Anyone based in Aberystwyth, Newtown or Swansea who is interested in loaning an e-cargo bike can request more information by emailing [email protected].