Two friends launched Cicla with the ambition of creating a national database of bicycles - so you can track the life of a bike from start to finish, as you can with cars.
In 2018, Eduardo decided to convert most of his journeys between work and home. From the usual car to bicycle. It was an economical option and would help improve his physical and mental health. To do so, he invested in an electric bike. He used it for eight months until the vehicle was stolen from outside his office, where it had been parked so many times before.
Bicycle theft is a reality in Lisbon, as it is in other capitals and cities. And the lack of a centralized, national bicycle registration system means that often, even if they report the theft to the authorities, owners are unable to recover their vehicles. In France, for example, has become mandatory by 1 January 2021 that all new bicycles sold are registered with a registration numberThis rule has also applied to used bicycles since July 1 of that year. For bicycles prior to 2021, registration became recommended.
With this national database, French authorities or buyers can easily identify stolen bikes that are offered for sale on platforms such as OLX or at street markets, and easily trace the original owners or report the case to the police. France has decided to go for this registration system as part of the Government's plan to increase bicycle use in the country.
Eduardo Ferreira and his friend Daniel Rita, a leisure enthusiast on two wheels, decided to launch the Cycle on World Bicycle Day, which was marked on June 3 - a new platform that aims to become a "national bicycle registry" in Portugal.. At Cicla, anyone with a bicycle is invited to create an account and register your belonging (P.S. - don't do it with Google/Facebook because it gives an error). Once you've registered, you can print out and apply the identification code to your bike - Cicla says you reduce the risk of theft if you make it visible that you're using the platform.
According to Cicla, the registration of the bike is lifelong, meaning that if the bike is sold or given away, it can be transferred to the new owner via the websiteThe new owner will receive a notification of the transfer and must accept the ownership of the bike by entering a transfer code, and the bike will appear in the new user's profile. However, the full history of that bike on the Cicla portal is always available to the original owner of the bike. In parallel, Cicla intends to work with partners such as stores that register the bikes sold directly on the platform.
The idea behind Cicla is to have a national database of bicycles so that it is possible to track the life of a bicycle from start to finish, as is already the case with cars. Cicla wants to help combat stolen bike transactions and thefts by helping to identify bikes and their owners.
In addition to creating an account and registering their own bike, people can use Cicla to register a stolen bicycle - the unfortunate can report the unfortunate event and its location on Cicla, add details and photos of the vehicle, and hope that their two-wheeled companion is found. Cicla also has a section dedicated to buying and selling bicycles.
In a statement, Eduardo and Daniel say that the aim with Cicla is that "no theft goes unreported and no transaction is made without ensuring the actual provenance and owner" and believe that, "if all bike users use this platform, thefts will reduce substantially".
Whether Cicla will become the "national bicycle registry" par excellence in Portugal we don't know yet, but the ambition is there and at least the first step is taken. The next steps also depend on people joining the platform.
