Workshop in Cali, Colombia, Helps Move Bike-Sharing Toward Reality

CALI, COLOMBIA (October 17, 2017) – A workshop co-hosted by the City of Cali, integral development non-profit FDI (Fundación para el Desarrollo Integral del Pacífico) and the Financing Sustainable Cities Initiative (FSCI) convened the Secretariat of Sustainable Mobility of Cali and other stakeholders from academia and civil society. The aim of the workshop was to help the city move to the public procurement phase and make the bike-sharing system of this city of more than 2.4 million people a reality.

Cali’s bike-sharing system will be designed to relieve traffic congestion and provide an active mobility solution integrated with mass transit. Interest in bike-sharing has grown worldwide, and local governments across Latin America are increasingly turning to bike-sharing systems to provide an affordable, active mobility solution that integrates first and last-mile connectivity for their public transport systems. Bike-sharing has expanded to around one-thousand cities worldwide and more than 2 million shared bikes publicly accessible. 

Workshop discussions centered on sharing important findings from global case studies, as well as barriers and challenges that cities often face and how to overcome them. WRI experts Luca Lo Re and Ivan de la Lanza presented international case studies and research using the FSCI Business Model Framework. During an interactive session, workshop participants explored options for a business model for Cali’s future bike-sharing system.

As a result of the workshop, the city identified several next steps before moving forward with the tender. It recognized the need for a study estimating future user demand (including transit habits and patterns), advanced methods for characterizing system users, and exploring different options for structuring user fees. The technical components of the bike-share system, including the bike type, possible providers and design of the system (e.g., docked or dockless), were also discussed and identified as key areas needing future agreement.

Financing Sustainable Cities (FSCI) is an initiative of WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities and C40 Cities, funded by the Citi Foundation, helping cities develop business models that can accelerate the implementation of sustainable urban solutions.