A NORTH-EAST company has been providing frontline workers with electric bikes to help them get to work safely during the coronavirus crisis.

In the wake of the virus outbreak, Ride Electric, based in Tynemouth, has been supplying its stock of eBikes to the region’s police force and NHS workers free of charge.

The idea came after they were inundated with requests from NHS workers who were concerned about coming into contact with people who may have coronavirus when they travelled to and from work on public transport.

Now the company is urging local businesses to help it be able to supply more bikes to meet the demand for its services by sponsoring a bike.

Ride Electric’s managing director, Craig Goff-Cooper, said: “Since coronavirus hit us in the UK, the reality of what this situation has meant to the NHS and support staff has dawned on us all.

“It is clear that public transport is not a valid option and car sharing is ill-advised.

“So, for those without their own car, the only options for safe personal transport is on foot, cycling or – more effectively, using electric bikes.

“We’re urging NHS workers to get in touch with us to see if we can supply them with a bike and we need local businesses across the North-East to sponsor additional bikes so we can get more in operation to meet demand.”

Ride Electric has been loaning its bikes to NHS staff free of charge for the past four weeks.

The company has also helped the region’s police force by providing them with eBikes to patrol its areas.

Sue Anderson, from Ride Electric, said: “As a result of our assistance over the last few weeks, we are now being asked for more support, but we are now at the limits of our resources.

“We are therefore looking for organisations to sponsor bikes for NHS frontline staff.”

If businesses would like to sponsor a bike for an NHS staff member, they can contact Ride Electric by visiting https://www.rideelectric.co.uk/help-for-nhs/sponsor-nhs/.