South Africa DOT Mobilizes Masses, Tailors Bikes to Local Needs

Posted: 01 Jul 2007

Related to: California Bike Project, Strengthening Bicycle and Rickshaw Industries, South Africa
Contributed by: Bradley Schroeder, ITDP

Officials recognize the unique mobility needs of rural communities

In June South Africa’s National Department of Transport hosted a meeting with bicycle industry representatives to decide on the technical specifications of the one million bicycles it has promised to roll out by 2015. The DOT’s program, named Shova Kalula (“Pedal Easy” in the Zulu language), was started in 2001 to promote the use of non-motorized transport, like bicycles, as a lower-cost means of access to employment, education, and healthcare. The program provides incentivized bicycles to previously disadvantaged people in South Africa.

On display at the Shova Kalula meeting as examples of appropriate bike design were ITDP’s California Bike “Los Angeles” model and its prototype one-speed bicycle currently under development in partnership with Qhubeka, a not-for-profit organisation that works to assist the socio-economic development of disadvantaged communities in Southern Africa. The California Bike Program’s four years of in-country design and field-testing experience provided participants with a useful basis for making decisions about matching bike pricing and specifications with target communities. Based on this experience, it became clear to many at the meeting that bicycles currently available on the market are designed for the recreational and sports enthusiasts and do not necessarily address the needs of rural commuters.

Rural school children and farm workers are the target recipients of the first 60,000 bicycles to be distributed in 2007-08. The DOT is opting for a robust, one-speed design with sufficient load-carrying capacity as the preferred spec for these communities.