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Yes, they do say that if you order in bulk, there is a discount. Looking at it, it's about 30% reduction in that price if you order more than a few, which, given that they are literally made to order, does make sense.
I hadn't considered the idea of them selling on the older models, although I assumed that it would be just as cost effective for them to keep using them until they wore out, given that there's no further costs incurred at all that way.I may well send an FOI request the way of one of the larger LAs who uses these bikes, it would probably be quite interesting to find out whether they actually offer value for money.
Honestly, the biggest surprise for me is that given that they're made to order, the choice is actually quite limited, especially regarding the bizarrely similar choice of bicycles- I wouldn't imagine riding a bike with front suspension and the weight of an oxy cylinder over the back wheel to be very fun. In some places, I imagine the off-road capability would be a godsend, but it seems to be a very one-size-fits-all approach to an otherwise quite open ended service. I know it's a partnership where Halfords provide the bikes, but even so, they sell a few hybrids and even tourers that, certainly in the places I've lived, would be far more appropriate!
(Plus, paramedics on proper touring bikes would just be an awesome sight... also potentially useful in rural areas as a very low cost way of getting to places in non-emergency situations, just like posties used to!)
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oxpoleon
@The_Seldom_Killer
Among the many things that these pannier carry are defibrillators and oxy tanks. No hope for getting those included for the £900 tag.
Bit of a mistake here. This is the price to you for ordering a one off. The price to a local authority might be lower on the basis that they will supply a fixed number of units across a set amount of time. The supplier then gets to reap some cost benefit by being able to schedule their build work efficiently which is passed on in part to the LA. I wouldn't be surprised if authorities are subsequently selling historic models and accessories on to organisations like St Johns and overseas orgs and collect on the associated tax write off to boot.
Of course if you really are interested in this stuff, you could always lob a Request for Information to some LAs asking about their tendered specifications for the work and historic expenditure. Some of the information might be redactable under Commercial in Confidence exemptions but most of it would pass a public interest test. Ask the questions in the right way and you might well be able to get a full release.