GoCar are delighted to announce our support for The Bike Hub and their efforts in repurposing old and unused bikes and donating them to DEIS schools and low-income communities across Dublin including refugee organisations.
🚴 | GoCar are delighted to support @TheBikeHub_ie with their amazing work of taking in and repurposing old and unused bikes and donating them to schools and to people on low income across Dublin for generations to come 👏 #GoCarForGood https://t.co/Kz4qZgPiwM
— GoCar (@GoCarIreland) August 27, 2021
The Bike Hub team are based out of Queen’s Road in the heart of Dun Laoghaire, they focus on engagement with the local community through bike-related projects such as training on bike-safety and basic repairs and maintenance.
GoCar will be providing access to our GoCargo and GoVans to distribute upcycled and refurbished bikes to DEIS schools across Dublin including low income families and refugee organisations.
We sat down (virtually) with The Bike Hub Chief Stephen McManus and asked him a few questions to better understand the project.
Stephen McManus of The Bike Hub
1. Tell us a bit about the origins of The Bike Hub and how and why you got involved?
The Bike Hub is a social enterprise, a nonprofit that revolves around cycling. The idea has always been to help make cycling accessible to as many people as possible, in particular those who felt that “it’s not for them”.
I have been a cycling advocate for a few years, calling for safer infrastructure to be created to allow more people to choose to cycle. The Bike Hub felt as the natural next step, a hands-on way of helping people to try cycling out as a healthier, lower cost and more fun commute to work or to school.
2. Where did the idea to repair and donate bikes to schools & low-income communities first come about and how many bikes have been delivered so far in 2021?
The idea started after I read about a London based initiative called The Bike Project. They do some great work with refugees and asylum seekers.
Looking carefully into their model I realised that there is a much broader potential audience: people from low income families who would benefit from a bike to commute, but can’t afford it.
We have delivered about 30 bikes for youths in the last three weeks, but we’re just ramping up our production capacity! 14 more going out just this week.
3. How will the support from GoCar help The Bike Hub and the work you do?
Having access to GoCar’s fleet removes one of the main overheads of the project, actually distributing the bikes to the places which need them. It allows us to plan the distribution of bikes across a wider area.
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4. What are your plans for the rest of 2021 and beyond in terms of this initiative? (distribution drops, expansion etc.)
At the earlier stages of the planning we were hoping to distribute 180 bikes in 2021. We started late, in August, due to all kinds of delays. But we still intend to hit this target.
5. What’s the best way people can get involved and support what you guys are doing?
We have a great team of about ten volunteers helping repair the bikes and on the coordination side. We also have a fairly good stream of donated bikes to work on. Having the logistics sorted with GoCar’s support, the biggest challenge left is to fund the new parts and accessories for the bikes being distributed. A startup pack with helmet, lock, lights and bell costs about €50 per bike. Plus between €50 and €80 in parts per bike can add up, so funding is always welcome. We currently fund this out of our bike repair services, but we are now offering companies the opportunity to sponsor 20, 50 or 100 bikes.
Sustainable Development Goals is a big thing for businesses these days and we have a great story to tell in that front, focusing on sustainability, circular economy and inclusion.
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We thank Stephen for his time in answering our questions and look forward to hearing about their great work over the coming months. If you’d like to learn more about The Bike Hub you can catch them on thebikehub.ie.
