| Mubi Bike Buddy – accompanying new bicycle users | |
| Brief Description | Bike Buddy is a bicycle use mentoring project developed by MUBi – Association for Urban Mobility by Bicycle – which consists of advising and accompanying new bicycle users on their first trips in an urban context. Support is provided by bike buddies – members of MUBi – who accompany new users on their first cycling experiences around the city, sharing their experience, and advising new bicycle users on routes, equipment, safety, legislation, shortcuts and tricks that make it easier to travel around the city by bicycle. These temporary tutors accompany the inexperienced user for two weeks (two / three times a week) on home-work-home journeys, in order to familiarize the new user with the bicycle as a means of transportation in an urban context. The request for accompaniment and/or counseling is done through an online form; the person in need of assistance gives a brief description of the type of assistance he or she needs. In the case of a request for advice, members provide options for journeys, sometimes each member knows only part of the journey, and at the end the information is processed and from there a final route is generated; in the case of accompaniment requests, the person indicates the point of departure and the point of arrival, based on that data a bike buddy is selected. Soon this practice will be part of the Bike Angel project platform, and requests can be made through this way. By providing beginners with the monitoring and safety of more experienced bicycle users, this practice works as a facilitator of behavior change. The adherence to this practice is reflected in its national scope, with members in Coimbra, Braga and Aveiro. However, the majority of the members are concentrated in Lisbon and Porto. |
| Image | – |
| European Country/Countries | Portugal |
| Field | Moving: Cycling |
| Type | Intervention |
| Impact | Health, Equity, Environmental sustainability |
| Status | Ongoing |
| Target Group | General population |
| Evaluation | No |
| Level | Local |
| INHERIT Perspective | This project has been chosen for inclusion because of its theoretical contribution for increasing active mobility. Ensures training and personal advice for easing the transition to a more balanced lifestyle, by promoting cycling. The use of the bicycle as a means of movement implies a greater contact with the environment and the practice of physical exercise, which has an impact on physical health and mental health. Cycling is a means of transport accessible to people from different social strata, allowing also the reduction of transportation expenses. Moreover, the bicycle drastically reduces the environmental impact of user’s displacements. |
| Detailed description PDF filename | Download file |
| Relevant links | http://mubi.pt/ |
| Contact | MUBi – Associação pela Mobilidade Urbana em Bicicleta, Apartado 2558, EC Praça do Município, 1114-001 Lisboa, Portugal. Email: geral@mubi.pt |
