Inside the Bury St Edmunds rickshaw that is the key to avoiding social isolation for elderly and less mobile residents
Heads turn when Ricky, Carrie, Tigger and Ladybird are out and about in town.
Most people still associate rickshaws with the clamour of an Asian city ... not the heart of Suffolk.
But these four are now a familiar sight in Bury St Edmunds, and while locals are getting used to them visitors do a double-take as the cycle-powered vehicles - with a stately top speed of 12km per hour - trundle past.
They belong to a pioneering charity that this year won a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service - the equivalent of an MBE - for its work.
Bury St Edmunds Rickshaw aims to help older and less mobile people avoid social isolation by getting them out for a ride in the fresh air.
When Covid struck in 2020 it changed its focus to essential deliveries before relaunching the original service last year.
Now a team of around 50 volunteers provide the pedal power to keep the wheels of the rickshaws turning, and sit alongside passengers to chat.
Its slogan of ‘more smiles per mile’ truly reflects the experience both for those who find it a lifeline from loneliness, and the people who give their time to help.
The charity was founded in 2018 by Libby Ranzetta and Sam Reid, who are now among the trustees.
“Sam and I were introduced to each other by town councillor Ann Williamson, who we had approached independently after learning about a rickshaw scheme in Scotland,” said Libby.
“We got together and started to make things happen. Our first bike was ordered from Denmark, but there was an eight week wait. By that time we had volunteers ready and had started their training.
“We began with locality funding from Bury Town Council and West Suffolk Council. The later machines were bought with more locality funding and various grants. Sponsorship from local businesses now pays our running costs.”
At first people found the idea of rickshaws puzzling and demand was slow to get off the ground. So they began spreading the word by doing demonstrations at care homes.
Joan Rowland, who is 88, is currently a passenger because of health issues but hopes to return to her previous role as a rickshaw companion known as a ‘chatty chum’.
“You sit beside someone and chat. It’s so lovely because you can see the pleasure on their faces,” she says.
“Sometimes they are a little bit nervous and will hold your hand. I was out with one lady and we had to sing all the while.”
Passers-by often give them a wave, and Joan jokes she has been perfecting her ‘royal’ wave because being carried in a rickshaw can make you feel a bit like the Queen.
Retired physio Gill Edmond, another chatty chum, says: “You get back so much more than you give. I always come home feeling elated.
“We had one blind lady we took out, and we just used to talk her round Bury. I work whenever I’m needed. I love volunteering. I think it makes you happy.”
It is not only older people who benefit. “Libby and I were quite broad in what we wanted to offer the town, not just for care homes but also schools where children are less able,” says Sam.
“We just take them out in the fresh air for a little while and that’s been a great success. That’s a regular job now.”
Libby adds: “We have people who have dementia and even where there isn’t much communication we can tell from their demeanour they are enjoying it.
“And at Riverwalk School - even if the children can’t talk - the whole school looks forward to our visits.”
A lot of their work comes through care homes, but they also take individual bookings.
Trips around the Abbey Gardens to see the flowers, or along the riverside path - where they have special exemptions from cycling bans - are very popular.
They open up the sights and sounds of nature in a way that would often be impossible for people who could never walk such a distance.
Rickshaw HQ - Libby’s garage - is where the bikes are stored and with four to house is getting quite crowded.
Ricky is the original bike. “Because we have so many now we thought it would be a good idea to distinguish them,” says Libby. “We also have Carrie the cargo bike, Tigger, which is orange and black, and Ladybird.”
During Covid lockdowns local businesses Hughes and Gastrono-Me sponsored their second bike, which can carry deliveries like shopping and adapt to take a wheelchair. They also began taking people to appointments.
“That quickly made our opportunities grow. We are doing more and more food waste deliveries now to prevent food that is still perfectly good being wasted,” Sam says.
The Queen’s Award came as a wonderful surprise. “We were absolutely delighted and surprised,” said Libby.
“We had quite a long visit from two Deputy Lieutenants, but really thought we were to young as an organisation to be considered. So when we heard we’d got it we were really thrilled.
“I think we got better known during lockdown. People really pitched in and worked really hard.”
Around 30 of the rickshaw volunteers are active at any one time. Riders, who are usually keen cyclists, are known as pilots.
Retired teacher Jack Pennell started with the charity in 2018. “I think I was one of the first intake,” he says.
“I find riding the rickshaw very straightforward. We have quite a lot of training now, and as new bikes have come along we have to learn how to use them.
“All the rickshaw bikes are battery assisted, and are probably easier to ride than a normal bike. If you have an electric bike, which I have, you’re half way there.
“I cycle in from Fornham, and that’s a lot harder than going on the rickshaw with two passengers.”
Motorists tend to be patient and considerate, he adds. “I don’t think I’ve ever been hooted at, and they let you in.”
The rickshaw’s oldest pilot, Ron Brown, is in his early 80s. “He routinely does the longest ride of all of us,” says Libby.
Ride times vary. “If it’s a care home the rider will want to take three or four different passengers, so it will be 25 or 30 minutes. But if it’s a one-to-one it may be an hour,” said Sam.
“We need more riders to keep all four bikes out every day. When people come on we ask them to do one session a week.”
Not all volunteers are retired. Some are shift workers. “We are flexible because we know some of these people have a full time job.
“They mostly do two or three hours at a time, but we have some stalwarts who are out there for five hours.”
Amanda Martin, another trustee who has been with the charity for three years, said: “If people aren’t sure they can become a fully fledged rider they can get into the spirit of it walking with the cargo bike, but with power assist.
“We only have about five chatty chums, but that’s not really an issue because often the care homes send a carer, or a family member comes along.”
Six volunteers work as controllers organising the bookings. “A lot of people put a lot of hours in behind the scenes,” said Sam. “There are all the skills like accountancy or IT, and people answering the phones.”
In May, rickshaw riders took part in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee torch relay around Suffolk. “The torch relay helped people see what the rickshaw is all about.
“We reach out to all areas of town including Moreton Hall, the Howard and Mildenhall Estate, and Marham Park.
“We still do demonstrations if people want to see a bike for themselves, and see how it can support their organisation.”
Word of mouth also gets the message out but they have to make sure they avoid being overwhelmed, and are not treated as a taxi service. We always make sure that they are people living on their own who need help getting out.
“There could be cases, where for instance someone’s Auntie is coming in from Sudbury, but can’t walk around, where we could meet them and take them round the Abbey Gardens.
“But we have to be careful because are a volunteer organisation and there are limitations to what we can offer because of numbers.”
They trialled a bike that could carry 10 children to school, but even with battery power riding it was just too tough a challenge.
Now they plan to set up a ‘bike train’ - where children cycle in groups with adults - to get youngsters cycling to school safely.
Demand for delivery services has led some of the rickshaw volunteers to form a sister project, Eco Carriers Bury St Edmunds, which will help the charity go back to its roots.
The not-for-profit social enterprise charges a fee to makes deliveries with two cargo bikes paid for by the town council.
“It’s the same ethos, trying to do good for the community. The rickshaw has spawned another good thing,” said Libby.
To request a rickshaw ride, volunteer, or make a donation, go online to bserickshaw.org.uk or call 01284 339449.
Stowmarket also has a rickshaw service which is run by Communities Together East Anglia (previously BSEVC) as part of their community transport service.
It was set up in 2018 by organisations that also included local councils, Stowmarket Lions Club and Stowmarket Dementia Action Alliance.
They all wanted to connect communities, reduce isolation and improve wellbeing.
Covid interrupted its progress, but now it is getting going again.
“Our aim is to help people who may be struggling to get out and about around Stowmarket,” says chief executive Jo Reeder.
“It’s a safe, environmentally-friendly, healthy way to encourage people who might still be a bit resistant to getting out and about to do that. We are also starting to work more with care homes.
“We’re a much smaller operation than Bury, and have one rickshaw and one trishaw, which both take two passengers.
“We have about 10 volunteers working with the rickshaw but are very keen to recruit more.
“We partnered Bury in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee torch relay in May and were part of the parade at the Suffolk Showground.”
To book a Stowmarket rickshaw ride, call 01449 614271. Potential volunteers should call 01449 707030.
Rickshaws are also seen in Framlingham, where they belong to Hour Community, a charity that last year won the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service for its work.
In 2018 the organisation, which has been working to find solutions to community issues in the town for more than 10 years, bought a traditional two-seater Trishaw - a three-wheeled rickshaw - as well as a wheelchair version.
“We did it with a view of providing outings for the residents of the local care homes and older members of the community who might otherwise struggle to get out and about,” said the charity’s CEO Nick Corke.
“We recruited and trained half a dozen volunteer pilots - as the pedallers are known - and now have a pool of ten.
“Probably the best way of demonstrating the impact that the project has had on the community is through some of the feedback we have had.
“A wheelchair passenger, who is waiting in the reception of the care home for us to turn up every week, said, ‘when I am in this, I don’t feel as though I am in a wheelchair any more’.
“She has also asked me to get an extra battery and see just how far we could go in one session!
“A dementia resident was overheard telling her daughter that she had been out on a bike that morning, which the daughter took with a pinch of salt, until it was put into context by the carer who went with her.
“The resident went on to say that she felt like the Queen as she was going down the road waving.
“The manager at the home said that she had no idea how the project would impact on the residents when we first mentioned it, but she says now, it has had a profound impact on all those who have been out.”
Nick adds: “We would be very interested in hearing from anyone in or around Framlingham who would like to become a rickshaw pilot. Please call on 01728 440511."
