What is Bota Pra Rodar (Let it Ride)?

Bota Pra Rodar is a community integration project that, through meetings, dialogue circles on issues surrounding the right to the city, basic mechanics workshops, entrepreneurship, and the creation of a community bike-sharing system, is developed in collaboration between Ameciclo members and residents of participating communities through the donation of used bicycles. These are bikes that have been idle, gathering dust, usually in more affluent and elevated areas of the city, and which, through this project, become tools for transforming the city into a more human, democratic, and sustainable environment.

The project is a tool for combating socio-spatial inequalities, a prominent characteristic of Recife, which ranks as one of the most unequal cities in Brazil, where access to rights (such as leisure, education, health, and mobility) is concentrated in specific areas, making what should be everyone’s right into a privilege.

Believing that mobility is an essential right enabling access to other fundamental rights, Bota Pra Rodar repurposes donated and refurbished bicycles, allowing people to move around the city, whether for work, school, or leisure spaces, using a safe, affordable, and sustainable means of transport. Thus,** the project strengthens the bike culture in the peripheries of Recife** (where bicycles are already a primary mode of transport), promotes the autonomy of peripheral women (many of whom lack personal transportation), and facilitates exchanges about citizenship, collective life, and technical knowledge of bike mechanics, opening up new income opportunities for those currently without employment options.

Step by Step

The project essentially works as follows:

1. Campaign to collect unused bicycles in condominiums and homes
2. Integration and discussion with the community to build the system
3. Promote mechanics workshops with young ones
4. Creation of a shared bicycle system managed by the community

NEW STEPS: Repair and replace the system's bicycles and work on financial sustainability.

In addition, the project includes citizenship and entrepreneurship workshops, where guest speakers share steps to start a business, and we invite bike-related companies to discuss their planning and execution, sharing their achievements and challenges with the group. In one Bota Pra Rodar unit, located in Vila de Santa Luzia, a community workshop is also being set up, managed collectively by participants of the basic mechanics course promoted by the project, which also featured workshops on association and cooperative management.

Where is it currently happening?

Recife faces serious urban mobility challenges, being considered the Brazilian city with the highest level of congestion in 2020. In 2023, the city experienced a 23% increase in traffic volume compared to the previous year. The situation is exacerbated by a growing vehicle fleet and inadequate infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians. These conditions directly impact the quality of life for residents, particularly in peripheral areas where public transportation is insufficient and mobility options are limited.

In this context, the Bota Pra Rodar project emerges as an essential tool for transforming the mobility landscape in Recife, operating in Special Zones of Social Interest (ZEIS) such as Caranguejo Tabaiares, Vila de Santa Luzia, and Entra Apulso. ZEIS are urban areas prioritized for public policy implementation aimed at improving the living conditions of low-income populations, who often face difficulties accessing services and adequate infrastructure. By providing shared bicycles and promoting mechanics and citizenship workshops, Bota Pra Rodar not only enhances mobility but also addresses social inequalities, empowering residents with more autonomy and sustainable transportation options.

Thus, Bota Pra Rodar contributes to a more inclusive transportation system in Recife, offering a viable alternative in a scenario where traffic congestion and public transportation limitations severely impact citizens' lives. This initiative is crucial for promoting fair and accessible urban mobility, directly benefiting the communities that need it most.

Our goal is to expand and improve the program even more, contributing to road safety, climate justice and improving quality of life. We are also expanding: through mentoring, the "Pedala Queimados" (Ride Queimados) project, in the city of Queimados (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) built its own system adapted to the region, with bamboo bicycles, abundant material in the region. This just shows how much is possible in other spaces! In addition to Queimados, São Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil), after mentoring with us, also implemented the adapted project, resulting in the project "Pedalando Juntas" (Pedaling Together).

What have we achieved?

Our main achievement, without a doubt, is contributing to city access, which is the primary focus of this project. When the project gets rolling, with its bikes circulating in the city, it helps people with limited transportation options reach their workplaces, schools, and leisure spaces, offering them a daily transportation solution. Another achievement is that the project has been replicated in other Brazilian cities, as mentioned before.

<u>Our Awards!</u>

• Bota Pra Rodar won the 2017 Award for Promoting Bicycle Mobility in Brazil;

• Award from Folkersma and the Dutch Cycle Embassy (2018);

• The project has led Ameciclo to events like the 2020 Mobility Summit, World Bicycle Forum (2021);

• Won the Laços Showcase for Positive Social Impact Initiatives (2021);

• We attended the Smart City Expo 2024 as a result of winning an award in 2023 for 'Innovation in Mobility' (first place) at a competition organized by FNP (National Front of Mayors);

• Recent developments regarding the Prêmio Bicicleta Brasil (Brazil Bicycle Award) indicate that it was launched by the Brazilian Ministry of Cities to promote the use of bicycles as a sustainable mode of transportation across the country. The award is designed to recognize various initiatives aimed at enhancing urban mobility and fostering a cycling culture. According to the Portaria 1.228, dated October 29, 2024, the award ceremony will highlight the best projects submitted for consideration, and Bota Pra Rodar has proudly secured second place in this prestigious competition. This recognition is part of a broader initiative to stimulate urban mobility, emphasizing the critical role of bicycles in reducing traffic congestion and improving accessibility in Brazilian cities. The Prêmio Bicicleta Brasil features several categories, rewarding innovative approaches to encouraging cycling within communities.

Who has supported the project?

Since the first Bota Pra Rodar, the project has received financial support from organizations such as Fundo Casa Socioambiental (Caixa Econômica Federal bank), Itaú Bank, and Greenpeace, City Hall of Recife, all through funding programs. These funds enable us to buy tools and parts for donated bikes that need replacements, pay the project management team, and cover other material expenses, such as graphic materials, paint, transportation, and other costs that arise throughout the project. Besides these funding sources.

We also receive help from partner organizations and groups who volunteer or help with community connections, supporting bike culture and active, sustainable mobility in their regions, like the Community Library Caranguejo-Tabaiares, the Cultural and Sports Association of Pernambucan Capoeira Art, the Caranguejo-Tabaiares Residents' Union, Pedala Queimados Group (RJ), Santa Paula Frassinetti Center for Popular Education and Social Assistance, 12th Scouts PE, and La Ursa Tours.

Our members contribute in various ways to the project, and of course, we’ve received crucial support from everyone who let go of their bikes and put them back in motion! Donations are the heart of this project. Without them, we couldn’t establish these bike-sharing systems. Our sincere thanks to everyone who has contributed to Bota Pra Rodar! ♥

How can you help?

Bota Pra Rodar thrives with the support of many hands and legs steering this ride towards our mission as an Association, which is to transform the city through the bike, creating more human, democratic, and sustainable spaces. To run the project, we rely on funders, management team, volunteer members, and people who believe that sharing can combat inequalities and help us by donating unused bikes.

If you or your organization are interested in financing the inauguration of a new station or contributing to the maintenance and restoration of existing ones, please get in touch with us: <u>financeiro@ameciclo.org</u>

Curiosity: How Did the Project Start?

Bota pra Rodar (Let it Ride) emerged from Ameciclo’s earlier initiatives aimed at collecting and donating bicycles. This raised important questions: What is the most effective way to donate a bike? Who truly deserves one? Drawing inspiration from the "White Bicycles" movement of the 1960s in Amsterdam, initiated by the anarchist PROVOS group, we reimagined our approach. Instead of simply distributing bicycles, we sought to establish a community bike-sharing system. Our goal was to collect bikes from higher-income neighborhoods and redistribute them to areas with limited access to mobility and essential rights. This vision ultimately led to the creation of Bota Pra Rodar.