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A Scottish Government scheme to give free bikes to school children who cannot afford them has been criticised after reports emerged about the costs involved.
Prominent social media pages questioned whether the scheme was good value for money, after a news article claimed the Scottish Government had spent nearly £10m on the pilot projects.
SNP Government forks out nearly £10m on ‘free’ bikes for children at £700 a pop.
Daily Record
Ferret Fact Service looked at this claim and found it Half True.
Scottish Government agency Transport Scotland launched the Free Bikes for Children Pilot Scheme in 2021. This followed a pledge in the SNP’s 2021 Scottish Parliament election manifesto to deliver free bicycles to children who can’t afford them.
Two further free bikes schemes have taken place since – the Free Bikes Partnership, and as part of the People and Place Programme.
In 2025, the Daily Record newspaper reported that the scheme had so far cost nearly £10m, with the bikes costing “£700 a pop”. This is based on a response to a freedom of information request by the Scottish Government, which revealed that – across the three schemes – £9,419,808 had been spent between August 2021 and March 2025.
During this time, 13,244 bikes had been distributed, which averages just over £711 per bike.
Labour MP Joani Reid described the costs as “outrageous” and said: “I am not against giving children free bikes, I am against my constituents being ripped off like this.
“Public money is precious and needs to be spent with care.”
In a post on her website, she argued that children’s bicycles could be purchased from High street retailers for under £200, and even a higher-quality branded bicycle would cost under £500.
However, the costs of the scheme do not just include bikes.
The FOI response stated this number “includes bikes purchased as part of fleets, for example by schools, and used by multiple children for purposes such as cycle training”.
In a separate response, the Scottish Government also clarified that the pilot scheme was delivered primarily by charities and community groups, partnered with Transport Scotland.
“Rather than allocate a bike per child in a specific area, many of them operated temporary loan schemes, or bike libraries – with approximately one bike for every three to four children under that approach,” the response stated.
The cost of the scheme also included staffing costs to run the projects, cycle training, storage, maintenance and safety accessories such as helmets, bike lights and locks.
According to an impact report for the initial pilot scheme, produced by Research Scotland, the “direct cost of providing a new standard bike ranged from £230 to £400”, with the average cost across the different regional schemes being £354.
Higher direct costs were incurred for adaptive bikes, which are made for people with disabilities who cannot ride a standard two-wheeled bicycle. According to the report, new adaptive bikes “ranged from £1,018 to £2,980”. Further costs came from identifying eligible families who would qualify for the schemes, and delivering bikes to the children.
The free bikes scheme from the Scottish Government cost £9.4m and delivered 13,244 up to March 2025. While the scheme cost about £711 for each bike delivered, this figure does not include the additional costs such as staffing, storage, maintenance and safety. According to an impact report for the initial pilot scheme, the average direct cost of the bicycles was £354, rather than £711.
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