Corporate report

National e-cycle programme privacy statement

Updated 19 November 2024

In May 2022, the Department for Transport (DfT) launched the national e-cycle programme. Cycling UK had been selected to lead a consortium of partners to offer:

• e-cycle training and capability-building sessions: giving people the confidence to ride an e-cycle
• loans of e-cycles: enabling people to see how e-cycles can be used in their daily routine

Why we need to collect personal data

The purpose for which the DfT is processing your personal data is to assess the effectiveness of the national e-cycle programme. This will inform decisions on how the scheme should be tailored in the future to raise awareness, and accelerate the uptake, of e-cycles.

Depending on which part of the programme you are participating in respondents will be asked to complete one to 3 surveys at various times.

If you fill in more than one, your responses to each will be compared to evaluate the effectiveness of the national e-cycle programme.  

You will have the opportunity to opt into a prize draw as per the terms and conditions.  

Some e-cycles, subject to your agreement, may be fitted with a sensor to help further evaluate how e-cycles are being used during loans.  While this e-cycle sensor data is linked to survey data, allowing individual user identification, it will be anonymised for analysis and only aggregate data will be shared with us.

You may also be invited to take part in interviews or focus groups.

What data we are collecting

We are processing the following information as part of the national e-cycle programme.

Your contact details (name, email address and telephone number) will be used to recontact you for the follow-up survey and to invite you to take part in interviews and focus groups.

We are also collecting the following demographic data of:

1. Gender.
2. Age (banded).
3. Household income (banded).
4. Ethnicity.
5. Partial postcode.
6. Employment status.
7. Physical and mental health conditions.

Your demographic data will be used for research and statistical purposes only.

We are collecting the following data through e-cycle sensors:

1. Date of trip.
2. Start time of trip.
3. Active minutes.
4. Distance travelled.
5. Average speed.
6. CO2 saving.

Cycling UK is processing your data for its own purposes relating to the national e-cycle programme. For more information about how Cycling UK uses your personal data, view its privacy notice.

Our lawful basis

The lawful basis for processing your data is Article 6(1)(e) of the UK GDPR – processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.

As information concerning ethnicity, disability and health are special categories of personal information, a further section of the UK GDPR applies, Article 9(2)(g) – substantial public interest.

Data sharing

Your personal data will be processed on behalf of DfT by Cycling UK, which is making this scheme. It uses Survey Monkey software to run the data collection. Cycling UK will share your personal data on DfT’s behalf with our evaluation partner, Steer, who is contracted to monitor and evaluate the programme.

Should other evaluation partners be contracted in future, this notice will be updated to reflect those changes.

Anonymised data may be shared or published for reporting purposes.

How long we retain the data

Your data will be anonymised at the earliest opportunity and consolidated with data from other research participants. We will use this aggregated data to analyse the efficacy and efficiency of the DfT funded programme you have been involved in. Your personal data will only be retained for the duration of the scheme’s monitoring and evaluation programme, which is expected to end in 2027.

Further information

For more information about your rights in relation to your personal data, how to complain or how to contact the DfT Data Protection Officer, view our Personal Information Charter.