André and Luís want to solve the problem of children who don't have bicycles suitable for their size, with a social service of providing and exchanging bicycles at affordable prices and that doesn't leave bicycles gathering dust.
Those who have children know what it takes: when they are small, they need a bicycle of a certain sizeBut they grow quickly, and their bicycles quickly become unsuitable. O Always Rolling is a new project that intends to help mothers and fathers in Lisbon to provide a bike appropriate to the size of their youngsters, throughout their early lives, and at the same time prevent old bikes from gathering dust in a garage.
Similar to Selim, which operated in Lisbon from 2020 to 2021, the Always Rolling is a bicycle bank but aimed at children and young people, which aims to help combat waste at these growing ages when a bicycle of a certain size quickly becomes outdated. With Sempre A Rodar, parents can buy a bike of a certain size for their little one, and as their child grows, they can exchange it for a bigger and more suitable bike.
The bicycles returned to Sempre A Rodar will be maintained so that they can be used again by another child in the community. Ideally, children should switch bikes every 1.5 - 2.5 years. For children who start trying out a bicycle around the age of two, it would be desirable to change four or five times before acquiring an adult-sized bike. Since this pace is unaffordable for many families from a financial and logistical standpoint, Sempre A Rodar aims to give a helping hand. The project is framed as a social business, which aims to create impact based on a logic of financial sustainability not dependent on external supportbut is starting with a small funding from Urban Movement Innovation Fundwhich intends to "empowering civic participation and a socially just and decarbonized future through innovative projects".
Sempre A Rodar is being developed by André Dias33 years old, bicycle mechanic, father of three children, and Luís Vieira29 years old, civil engineer, uncle of two. Both share experience in riding the Bicycle Trains, under the Lisbon City Council program, and have observed on-site that some children had more difficulty riding a bike just because they had vehicles that were too big or too small for their size. Luís and André's family experience has also reinforced the need to put this project wheeling. Sempre A Rodar also counts on the collaboration of Marcia Martins35 years old, nurse, also train driver, and also from the cooperative Bicyclingwhere it is incubated.
The prices of the bikes at Sempre A Rodar are still being defined, but should be around 30-60 € depending on the wheel size. The exchanges will have special prices, depending on the returned bicycle, which should be relatively functional. These values are determined taking into account the costs of acquisition and maintenance of vehicles and management of the operation, always bearing in mind the desire to lower the acquisition cost of households: the aggregate value of all four/five transitions should be under 200 euros, which, for comparison, is a usual value of a new 24'' bicycle.
The Sempre A Rodar will promote a pre-launch event this Wednesday, September 7th, designated in 2019 as International Clean Air Day by the United Nations General Assembly. This event aims to give the kick-off in the project with a presentation, a workshop and a snack at the end, and will also serve to seek partnerships with entities linked to the promotion of cycling mobility, of activities and projects focused on children and young people, and of the circular economy.
Sempre A Rodar is also looking for used bicycles to donate or buy for a symbolic amount (less than 5 euros, to be agreed upon between the parties). It is already possible to schedule the collection of donated bicycles through of this form. Luís, André and Márcia will use the months of September, October and November to prepare and repair the bicycles, establish partnerships, and fine-tune processes so that the bank can be operational in December. The project team is available at geral@semprearodar.ptwill have the site operational soon, and is already on the social network Facebook.
