Terms and conditions

There is no charge to borrow anything from the library, and no deposit. We do not ask you for payment details.

We may ask you to contribute towards the cost of repairing or replacing something if it is lost, stolen or significantly damaged while it is with you (see section 8).

You can borrow from the library if:

• you are 18 or over, and you are the person who will be responsible for the item while it is on loan;
• the details you give us are accurate, including your name, email address, phone number and home address;
• your home address is within the Worcester City Council boundary, because that is where we deliver to and collect from;
• you have no other active, confirmed or pending loan with us. One loan at a time, please.

If you live outside the Worcester City Council boundary and think we might still be able to help, ask us before you book.

If you are booking on behalf of someone else, tell us at the time. The person who will be using the item needs to be the borrower.

The live fleet is on the library website. It includes bikes, trikes, tandems, cargo bikes and electric bikes, and a set of accessories such as children's seats, tag-alongs and bike racks.

Accessories can be borrowed on their own, to fit to a bike you already own, or alongside a bike from the fleet. It is your responsibility to check that an accessory fits your bike and is fitted correctly. Ask a volunteer if you are not sure.

You book online. After you submit the booking form we email you a link to confirm it:

• Confirming. Your booking is not held until you confirm it using the link in that email. The link expires after 24 hours.
• First come, first served. Confirming does not guarantee the dates. If someone else confirms the same dates for the same item before you, we will tell you and you can book something else.
• Delivery and collection windows. You tell us up to three times you could take delivery, and up to three when you could hand the item back, using our morning, afternoon and evening windows. We match those against volunteer availability. If none of your windows work, we may suggest alternatives for you to accept or decline.
• Your booking is confirmed once we have matched a volunteer to a delivery time, and we will email you the details.

A loan is for the dates you book, up to a maximum of two weeks.

Some dates on the availability calendar are blocked even though nothing is booked. We need a few days between loans to check, clean and service each item, so you cannot book right up to the next booking's start date. The calendar shows what is actually available.

We bring the item to your home address and collect it from there. You do not need to collect it yourself. We deliver within the Worcester City Council boundary.

• Be there, or be contactable. Someone aged 18 or over needs to be at the address during the agreed window, and we need to be able to reach you by phone.
• Access. Tell us about anything that will help us find you or get to your door, such as a gate code or a parking restriction.
• Handover. A volunteer will spend a few minutes with you on how the item handles, how to lock it and, for an electric bike, how the motor and battery work. This is your chance to ask questions.
• Changes. If you need to move a delivery or collection, tell us as soon as you can. We will do our best, but we cannot always rearrange at short notice, and the item may need to stay with you until a volunteer is free.

While an item is with you, you are responsible for it. In particular:

• keep it locked and secure when you are not riding it, using a lock suitable for the item;
• keep it somewhere safe overnight, ideally indoors or in a locked shed or garage;
• use it sensibly and within the law, including the road traffic laws that apply to bikes and e-bikes;
• keep it at the address you gave us, which must be within the Worcester City Council boundary, so that we can collect it from you at the end of the loan. If your address changes during the loan, tell us, but bear in mind we can only collect from inside the boundary;
• do not lend it, hire it out or let anyone else ride it without telling us;
• do not modify it, or fit parts to it, without asking us first;
• do not take it outside the UK;
• for an electric bike, charge it only with the charger supplied, follow the instructions a volunteer gives you, and do not leave it charging unattended or charge it somewhere you would not want a fire to start;
• tell us promptly if it is damaged, faulty, lost or stolen, and report any theft to the police and give us the crime reference number.

We will show you the controls and, for e-bikes, the battery at handover. If anything feels wrong with the item while you have it, stop using it and contact us.

A volunteer records the condition of the item with you when we deliver it and again when we collect it. Normal wear and tear from ordinary use is expected and is not your problem.

If an item comes back significantly damaged, or is lost or stolen, we will review what happened. We will take into account how you looked after it and what you told us. Depending on what we find, we may:

• accept it as fair wear and tear, with no further action;
• ask you to contribute towards the cost of repair or replacement;
• decide not to lend to you again.

We will always tell you the outcome and our reasons, and you can ask us to look at the decision again (section 12).

These terms include honouring the agreed return date you set when you book. Another booking may follow yours, so returning the item on time is what keeps the library working for everyone.

If you cannot return on the agreed date, contact us as soon as you know. We will do what we can, but a late return may mean we have to cancel someone else's booking, and it may affect whether we can lend to you again.

If a loan runs past its end date we will contact you. We may also charge for the extra time in line with section 8, and we may end the loan and collect the item.

• Before your booking is confirmed, you can cancel from the link in your booking email. Nothing further happens.
• Once your delivery is confirmed, you can cancel up to 48 hours before the agreed delivery time.
• Within 48 hours of delivery, please contact us instead, and we will see what can be done.
• Early return. If you want to give an item back before the end of the loan, ask us from your booking page. We will arrange a collection when a volunteer is available.

Your booking page also lets you see the status of your loan, accept or decline any alternative times we suggest, and request an early return. It stops working once the loan is returned.

Contact us as soon as possible, using the details in your booking email, if:

• the item is damaged, faulty or unsafe;
• the item is lost or stolen;
• you have an accident or a near miss while using it;
• someone is injured while using it.

We may end a loan early, or ask for an item back straight away, if we believe it is unsafe, if we think it is being misused, or if we cannot reach you. We may also decline a booking, or decide not to lend to someone again, if a previous loan was not returned or was significantly damaged.

If you are unhappy with anything about a loan, a decision we have made, or how a volunteer behaved, contact us at the address on the website and tell us what happened. We will look into it and respond. If a decision was made by our Library Manager, you can ask for it to be looked at again by another member of the Bike Worcester team.

We check and service every item before it goes out, and we will not lend something we believe is unsafe. Even so, cycling carries risk, and you ride at your own risk. You are responsible for riding within your ability and in line with the law. Whether you wear a helmet is your choice, and we would never tell you not to.

Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that the law does not allow us to limit. Subject to that, we are not liable for indirect or consequential losses, such as lost earnings or missed appointments.

You are responsible for any loss or damage caused by your use of the item, except to the extent that it was caused by our negligence.

To run the library we hold your name, contact details and home address, along with the record of your loan. We use them to arrange delivery and collection, to contact you about your booking, and to keep the library's records. We do not sell your information, and we do not use it for marketing unless you have asked to hear from us.

We email you about your loan using a link that lets you see and manage your booking without an account or a password. Please keep that link to yourself: anyone with it can see your booking and cancel it.

Full details are in the Bike Worcester privacy policy. If you would like your record deleted after your loan has ended, ask us.

We may update these terms from time to time, for example if we add new equipment or change how bookings work. The version that applies to your loan is the one published when you book. We will not change the terms of a loan that is already confirmed without telling you.

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales.

The quickest way is to reply to any email about your booking, or use the contact details on the Bike Worcester website.