On Wednesday 31 July some of our residents were treated to an e-rickshaw ride.
During its maiden voyage in Heaton Park, its passengers were chauffeured around by our amazing activities team!
Both the residents and staff enjoyed their outing to put the bike’s pedals to the test. Activities manager Nick Burgess commented ‘It was just so nice seeing their faces! They (our residents) kept saying ‘it’s just lovely to be part of this’ and seeing their enjoyment at the memories it brought back made me love my job even more’.
The rickshaw evidently got all their seals of approval, with one of the resident’s, Rae, asking, ‘When are we doing it again?!’
Some other uplifting feedback included:
‘It was first class, and I appreciate the work that went into making it happen, this trip on the rickshaw brought back so many memories from my childhood and youth.’
‘It was the best day of the week being on the rickshaw!!! ‘
‘It was a lovely change, great fun, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself, I have not been on a bike for years’
We plan to be returning to Heaton Park in the near future.
Inspired by reading about the project ‘Cycling Without Age’ – a movement started by Ole Kassow to help older people with limited mobility to get back on their bicycles by using a rickshaw -– we felt this could be a perfect addition to the activities that we offer onsite which include cycling on our Motiview stationary bikes and which so many of our Heathlands Village residents love.
We were originally awarded a grant of almost £10,000 to purchase our bright orange ‘Van Raam Chat’ from the Department for Transport and the Active Travel England Capability and Ambition Fund which supports Greater Manchester’s active travel mission.
The electric assisted rickshaw bike is designed to be used by both adults and children who might struggle to navigate traffic on their own, such as our Heathland’s Village tenants or residents and anyone who attends our community-based services or Children’s Centre.
