Cycle to Work Alliance and Association of Cycle Traders join forces to reform Cycle to Work scheme

The Cycle to Work Alliance has announced it is working together with the Association of Cycle Traders (ACT) to accelerate positive reform and expansion of the Cycle to Work scheme.

Together, the two groups will work towards two objectives. Firstly, to unlock the scheme for those on low incomes, national minimum wage earners and self-employed people. Secondly, to work with the government to reduce the administrative barriers that make the current scheme convoluted for employers and employees.

Read more: Could the Cycle to Work scheme be open to self-employed and National Minimum Wage earners?

The collaboration between the Alliance, which contains the five biggest scheme providers, and the ACT, the union of over 650 bike shops and cycle retailers, will come as a surprise to some. For months, the ACT has been railing against some of the scheme providers represented by the Alliance, calling the fee structure imposed by providers unfair and punitive. This announcement marks a new era of collaboration within the industry.

The issue of commission fees is a notable absence from the list of priorities. In the past, the Alliance has made clear that it is not in control of the commercial agreements between providers and bike shops, and has refused to comment on the commission fees debate.

On 1 March, Last told GCN, "Cycle to Work providers have all got different commercial arrangements and that's nothing to do with the Alliance."

That said, there are some tentative signs that the Alliance have listened to bike retailers' commercial concerns. The joint statement read:

"The Cycle to Work Alliance and Association of Cycle Traders held positive and productive discussions on the contribution of the scheme, the views of independent bike retailers and the collective support for reform."

Read more: Cycle to Work: UK government reminds disgruntled retailers scheme is 'entirely voluntary'

The commission fees issue is certainly one the retailers will not let lie. In a separate statement, released alongside the shared statement, ACT Director Jonathan Harrison celebrated the partnership, whilst drawing attention to the commission fee debate that was still unresolved:

"We have committed to working together to drive forward positive change and to reach certain objectives [...] However, at the same time, we continue to recognise the concerns of our members and we will continue to strive for lower commissions by reaching out to individual providers.”

Although the central commercial debate is not explicitly mentioned in the shared statement, there is reason to hope that this union will lead to a more collaborative future between Cycle to Work providers and bike shops.

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