This is a sweet 7 minute short film by Chris McCoy & Adam Neustadter about the ups and downs of being a bicycle. It was created 2 years ago and has been selected for numbers international film festivals. The main character is The Bicycle who is personified by the voice of Matthew Waterson and even so often I find myself going back to watch this film because for me, it encapsulates the full range of lived experiences, thrills and spills. I find comfort in the idea that although we may own a bike of whatever the duration tis that we own it, who knows what stories, histories and situations our bicycles are involved in before or after they come into our lives.
I also love the idea that our loved and used bicycles move on to other owners and have new lives and incarnations that we never know about. I think the secret lives of bicycles could be fascinating idea to explore given the rich, unique and interesting stories it would bring up.
While reading though some research for my Lit Review, I came across this article: Ghatak, M., Kumar, C., & Mitra, S. (2013). Cash versus kind: Understanding the preferences of the bicycle-programme beneficiaries in Bihar. London, UK: International Growth Centre.
I have previously posted about this program, as it looks like a great initiative, so I was interested to read more about it, but was shocked by a few of the program details and findings that (of course) were not included in this programs’ previous promotions.
Review of the report.
This article is looking at cash transfer schemes and specifically using one case study, the Bihar Mukhyamantri Cycle Yogina (Chief Minister’s Bicycle Programme) a Cash for Kind (Bicycle) program to discuss some of the preferences of the bicycle beneficiancies of this program. It is not analyzing the program as such, although some interesting program results are given which I will expand on, but this paper is looking at to the recipients prefer to get the cash or the bicycle – and why.
Cash for Kind program are where the government disperses cash to recipients, who then use the cash to access a certain ‘kind’ of goods (or service) – usually something that is predetermined and linked as a condition for receiving the cash – in this case the money was to purchase a bicycle for all 9th grade students enrolled in school.
This report is 22 pages, so I am not going to give you all the results and details, but here is a few of the more interesting aspects of the report.
Program Background
The Bihar bike program is a well-known Indian program which provided ALL the 14 year-old girls (9th grade) in the whole state with bicycles. Bihar is one of India’s Eastern States that boarders Nepal and is considered to be one of the most impoverished states in India. The Mukhyamantri Cycle Yogina originally started in 2006 and provided Rs 2,400 for purchasing bicycles but was only for the girls. In 2009-2010 the program was expanded to include all the boys in the state of the same age and for the academic year of 2011-2012 the cash was increased to Rs 2500 per student. In 2012 – 2013, a conditional change was made that only students who maintained a 75% attendance at school were eligible.
So this report is a follow up of this program and was undertaken Sept – Oct 2012 over 36 villages and involved surveying 840 households (as a representative sample of the whole district) of which 958 bike recipients lived (some households had more than one child in the program).
Some of the key results
Do the benefits reach the intended beneficiaries – overall, yes.
Overall 90% of the beneficiaries reported being happy with this program (no grievances)
Issues of corruption – corruption can occur by various actors at various stages, but for this program it was difficult to do and corruption was considered to be very low.
Corruption opportunities:
Ghost beneficiaries
Enrolled in multiple schools – double benefits
Was the accurate amount of $$ received?
Receiving other benefits/services (not a bike)
Program administrators skimming a commission by using their own voucher or coupon system
Even though there were areas where corruption could occur, not much did with 93.3% reporting having received the correct amount – meaning 56 households received less than they were entitled to.
Results show that 98% of those who received the cash/voucher used it as required to purchase a new bicycle – over the course of a whole state – that is a pretty amazing result.
45% said they would prefer cash instead of a bicycle
Rest of the report – some scary details
The rest of the report discusses the determinates of why certain households choose a preference between cash and kind (bicycle) – for example the quality of the bike was mentioned as one of the determinants for choosing cash or bike.
In the discussion, the report indicates a few interesting and very disturbing features of this program.
For example, one of the supply side conditions, and the way the program was set up, was that the beneficiaries were provided with cash (provided by the state, but distributed by the teachers at school), then they went out and purchased a bicycle with that cash and brought back the receipt as evidence of a bike purchase. Interestingly, this was not how the full program was implemented. Some districts deviated from this system and 30% of the beneficiaries were required to submit a receipt BEFORE they received the cash for the bike.
This meant 3 things: 1. People had to either purchase the bike with their own money, or 2. Get a fake receipt and 3. This would put extra financial strain on the poorest of the poor, of which this program was trying to help, but forcing into a compromised situation.
There were huge delays of payment to the recipients of up to 6-months.
Most troubling is, that the program provided an inadequate amount of money to purchase a bike in the first place – 98% of beneficiaries had to add money a significant amount of money to the program cash to buy a bike – on average Rs 979.
The market price for the three CHEAPEST bike brands in the area Atals, Avon and Hero (of which about 80% of the beneficiaries selected) range in price of Rs 3100 – 3300, but the government supplied only Rs 2500 – meaning that pretty much all of the recipients had to make up the difference themselves. For the richer households this comes out of savings, for the poorer families – this puts them further into debt, with 25% of all the recipients having to BORROW money to buy a bike – thus indebting them into poverty even further.
And this report states that 90% of the recipients were happy with the program!!??
Don’t get me wrong, the program is ambitious on many levels and you cannot get everything right – and the premise of supplying a new bike to increase school access is something I am very supportive of. However, ethically I have a major problem with programs whose conditionality has a direct and immediate negative consequence for the recipients when program organisers tout the program a success.
Such an error is easily rectifiable with A) doing the right homework to find out how much money is actually needed to buy a bike before implementation and B) increasing the government’s allocation to all beneficiaries if the program is already in effect.
Loan sharks anyone?
The report acknowledges that there is a ‘trade-off between universality and corruption’ meaning that beneficiary needs need to be balanced with the level of leakage and corruption. But given the opening stats on the low corruption level for this program (98% of recipients got the right amount of cash = no corruption), it is hardly justifiable to decrease the reimbursement amount so much that being involved in the program diminishes the possible benefits to such a point where the needs of the beneficiaries are negatively compounded now three fold from having borrowed money to be in the program. Loan sharks anyone?
As a community development practitioner, I find these kind of programs disturbing, as many of them look good in the NGO reports and social media, but by digging a little deeper there are some interesting lessons to be learnt for future review, modifications and application.
I appreciate that this program is on a massive scale and is one of the first of its kind in the world, but critical features such as supplying the correct amount are basic provisions that should have been addressed before implementation.
I would be very interested to hear the rational given for this cash transfer amount for this program.
Brazil is the 5th largest country in the world, and it is also the place of massive cities such as Rio de Janeiro, which has 12,700,000 inhabitants, and Sao Paulo, with 21, 000,000 people. This expansive and sexy and country is well known for its colourful and warm culture, as well as for its social issues and unequal distribution of wealth. This post will look at some of the different perceptions that bicycles have in Brazil.
Bicycles are for the poor
According to The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) (2014), 40% of those who use bicycles as a means of transportation in Brazil have family incomes of up to R $ 1,200. These are the Brazilians that are more affected by high taxation, which hinders access to a product that has higher quality and a more equitable value, therefore favouring migration to other means of transport, especially motor vehicles.
This taxation could be up to 72% per bicycle – which is manufactured in Brazil. That said, the price of bicycles in Brazil is a real limitation when it comes to providing transportation access to those who really need it. Regardless of the decreasing number of people living in extreme poverty in Brazil, which has at 64% in 2001 and fell from 13.6% to then 4.9% by 2013, according to data released this week by the World Bank. Granting the means of transport within such crowded cities is a must.
Source: Revistabicicleta.com
Today Brazil is the 3rd largest producer of bicycles in the world, after China and India. It is the 5th largest consumer of bicycles in the world, representing a share of 4.4% of the international market.
However, the per capita consumption of bicycles, fell to the 22th place, which highlights an emerging market with great growth potential. If the prohibitive tax is eliminated by 2016, the increase in sales could promote the economy, give more employments opportunities and the government could collect more money from other existing taxes.
Democratising the use of bicycles.
https://youtu.be/s2bTGRvQgCU?t=55
The City Hall of Salvador worked together with Itau Bank to provide 20 bike stations, where citizens can get a bicycle to ride for free within the city. The citizens just need to call or register their trip with an app on their mobile phones. This kind of initiatives is democratising and encouraging the use of bicycles to go to work or to go shopping. Nowadays, there are even more bike taxis on the roads, which are creating even more jobs.
To conclude, bicycles have the opportunity to make a significant difference if there is enough willingness from the Brazilian government to facilitate this means of transport that could help to break the inequality and will create more equitable opportunities for all.
Mauricio Gonzalez is our Guest Blogger, unveiling some of South America’s bicycle culture for the fortnight from 20th June to 2nd July.
Felling a little tried from a big day? Today I wasn’t able to get on my bike as much as I’d have liked – so as a consolation, I thought I could make up for it with a little double helping of extra special bedtime bike love…
Bicycle Love
The first is to snuggle up with a good book – this one is BICYCLE LOVE – the synopsis on Amazon states that “all athletes love their sports, but cycling has a fetishistic side to it—the love of this deceptively simple machine that allows you to silently float, race and climb. These 50 essays on the many varieties of bicycle love range from dreamy reminiscences of childhood bikes to powerful, sometimes insane adult attachments to mountain bikes, road bikes and tandems.
They all celebrate the freedom of cycling, the elegance of the machine and the beauty of the act. The characters are everyone from a teenage girl on a moun-tain bike to old men crossing the country on touring bikes to couples falling in love while cycling. Funny, revealing and intensely emotional, these stories show the secret inner life of every cyclist”.
Now that’s a nice collection to finish the day with – and what a great cover illustration!
Source: Amazon
Cycling Doonas
Then, an ex-student of mine sent me the picture below. She is from Russia and a friend from home had sent her this picture. Knowing my love of bicycles, she Facebooked it over, so it is a little hard to track the origin (sorry no attribution!). But, I’ve also since seen it on Pinterest (type in ‘bicycle bed cover’).
Either way, I love the idea of smuggling under this doona to dream about the next ride. GOLD!!!
Bicycles are western innovations that were designed for sightseeing, leisure, sports and short-distanced movement. However, in Cameroon, bicycles play a fundamental role regarding of our cultural exigencies. Before the arrival of cars and motorcycles, bicycles were regarded as ostentatious goods and a basic necessity when it comes to cultural issues such as marriages. For example, before a man marries a woman, he has to do “knock-door” which simply implies that he can only seek the consent of the woman’s parents by knocking their door with a bicycle.
This bicycle will be used by the future spouse to go to farms that are far away, and to local market places. This is why in Cameroon, bicycles are often regarded as part and parcel of the bride price. Below is a picture of a young farmer who has accumulated some capital in order to afford a used bicycle, which he could offer as part of the price for his bride. In addition, it is generally believed in Cameroon that when a married woman stresses for long by trekking every day, she will wither like a flower. Therefore, in Cameroon, bicycles have a dual cultural significance in relation to marriage.
Source: World Culture Pictorial
Gabriel Beson Etchu is our Guest Blogger, unveiling some of Cameroon’s bicycle culture for the fortnight from 2nd May to 15th May.
Bicycles are utilised by many African Presidents and more precisely, by the Cameroon President Paul Biya, as an instrument to demonstrate their physical fitness and ability to lead their nation.
Not ‘fit’ to lead?
In the early 1990s, there was a public outcry of criticisms regarding President Biya’s physical and intellectual ability to pilot the state affairs of Cameroon. These criticisms were largely because he had been in power since 1982 until the present date of 2016, well over 32 years in power. Many people thought he had withered like a flower and was no longer ‘fit’ to lead the nation.
A show of strength
To end these public critiques, President Biya made a well-publicised display of riding a bicycle in public, covering a distance of 2 km as a means of sensitising and informing his compatriots that he is still up to the task of leading Cameroon, despite his advanced age. It was clearly a bold move, but one that was strategically designed to stopping naysayers and to exemplify the necessary vigour , strength and fitness required for both tasks. What a confident image he portrays. Bicycles are integral to social status and power. So in this instance, it is clear to see the political significance of bicycles in Cameroon.
Bicycles are integral to social status and credibility in Cameroon. This instance clearly demonstrates their role and importance – in this case, for the political significance of bicycles in Cameroon.
Source: Cam-pedia.com
Gabriel Beson Etchu is our Guest Blogger, unveiling some of Cameroon’s bicycle culture for the fortnight from 2nd May to 15th May.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, bicycles are considered to be the primary source of mobility. Most people in these countries use bicycles to travel to faraway places to fend for their livelihood. Others use bicycles to reach areas where land is fertile for agriculture, to transport their farm products to local markets and to seek for health facilities located far away.
Economic Uses
In this region, there are glaring examples of men carrying more than 2oo liters of water using a simple bicycle. No wonder, NGOs like Plan International have recognise the economic importance of bicycles and have equally embarked on a massive distribution of bicycles to countries like Cameroon and Burkina Faso not only to fight hunger and starvation but also to promote education as well.
Political Uses
Even dictatorial governments and corrupt politicians in Sub-Saharan Africa countries provide bicycles to soldiers, so as to penetrate the hinterlands and to make sure that they remain in power. Many people have seen pictures in the media and online of Cameroonian soldiers who are often sent by bicycle to the hinterlands or non-accessible areas to counteract the infiltration of the Islamic Sect, Boko Haram. Hence, one could also talk of the political importance of bicycles in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Source: Kristian Platten
Gabriel Beson Etchu is our Guest Blogger, unveiling some of Cameroon’s bicycle culture for the fortnight from 2nd May to 15th May.
In looking for evidence to show the social changes made by the use of bicycles, I found an interesting video. In the video, a Japanese man, Satoshi Hikita, who works for a television station, and who commutes by bicycle for 24 km, delivered a lecture about using bicycles for environment-friendly and healthy town development. The video contains the interview Mr. Hikita gave after his lecture. The lecture was delivered in Nichinan, Miyazaki prefecture, where he was born, on 8th July 2011. Mr. Hikita gave interesting arguments to explain how bicycles contribute to town development.
Main arguments presented
He claims that using bicycles has benefits for both individuals and society. Individual benefits are: promoting fitness, saving money, and furthering familiarity with local town environs. On the other hand, the social benefits are mitigation of traffic jams, reduction of traffic fatalities and medical expenses, and eco-friendly traffic. He also argues that these benefits cannot be achieved by using cars because they emit carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming; people don’t exercise when they drive a car, which is not healthy, and using a car might be more expensive in the longer term because oil prices will rise more and more.
Mr. Hikita argues that town development can benefit by promoting bicycles because the immediate appeal of the local environment can best be felt on foot or on a bicycle. This means the more people use bicycles in the town, the more they can personally and directly feel the attraction of the place. He cites the examples of Tokyo in Japan and cities in the United States; where young people prefer to go, enjoying the city on foot or a bicycle, not a car and have been developed through people’s interaction and communication. Mr. Hikita maintains that riding bicycles encourages us to interact with people and to fully appreciate our local environment, as well as being a convenient mode of transport.
Comment
After watching this video, I was intrigued by Mr. Hikita’s idea of how the planning of cities and towns was influenced by the use of bicycles. Even though I lived in Tokyo before coming to Australia, I didn’t notice that people best enjoy in the city on foot or a bicycle. I agree with Mr. Hikita when he says that cities can’t be enjoyed by cars because so many interesting places are missed, such as lots of interesting and mysterious shops or galleries on narrow streets where cars can’t go through. As he insists, a town’s attraction can be found not by cars, but by bicycles. If town planning includes promoting the use of bicycles, not only can people have an enjoyable town, they have healthy and eco-friendly lives today and tomorrow.
Sachie Togashiki is our Guest Blogger, unveiling some of Japan’s bicycle culture for the next fortnight from 11th April to 24th April.
I was sad to hear of the tragic deaths of two to the world’s most recognised and beloved bike superstars this week – Kelly McGarry (NZ father of freestyle mountain biking) and BMX hotshot Dave Mirra. Having ridden just a month ago on tracks created by Kelly, who died while mountain biking and knowing that Dave leaves behind a wife and two daughters after committing suicide (self-inflicted gunshot) only magnifies the vacuum and impact they leave behind.
The community outpouring for both has been substantial, touching and intensely personal. Both were exceptional on the bike – yet were equally well-known off the bike for being just decent, warm and generous people. In this way, they contributed more than just skills and amazing feats – they raised the standard of a character of common decency, compassion and courage – and all with a healthy lashing of cheeky bugger of course!
These men contributed so much to promoting and developing their sports- both on and off the bike. One such example comes from Wypler (Feb 1st 7.20pm) on the Pinkbike Kelly tribute page who reflects that: Kelly really had the biggest heart, he never let his fame and status in the mountain bike world get to his head. In November 2015 we were riding in Queenstown at Wynyard – a 12-year-old German girl was riding through the park trying some jumps and slipped off the trail on some loose gravel. She was all banged up, bleeding, concussion, etc…Kelly picked her up, carried her out of the park, then drove her to the hospital and waited in the emergency room with her until her parents arrived. Absolute class act.
Both men were awe-inspiring: in their passion and promotion of riding; their amazing feats on bicycles; their professionalism; modesty; sense of adventure and genuine friendliness when interacting with the wider community. Both deaths are tragic and unexpected, yet their legacy will continue to remind us of how inspirational, transformational and significant the love of bikes can be.
It seemed fitting that I watched two documentaries today on two more champion cyclists: Chris Froome and Cadel Evans. Chris Froome’s unassuming beginnings in Kenya and Cadel’s youthful near death horse experience perfectly illustrate that your background and history does not define who you are, or if you become a champion. It is created in every decision you make, in the hard work and love that you give and every ride you undertake is an expression of what kind of person you are. Each of these four men have made it to the top of their cycling codes. They each serve as a reminder that every cycling champion is still just a person – and that each of us has a story, a history, difficulties, people who support us, shitty days on the bike and then exhilarating days. Yet all of us love to ride and every day we ride makes it all worth it. No-one ever truly knows what goes on in your head – but riding often makes life that much easier.
What a blessing having a bike can be and how precious life is.
Ultimately, those who ride bikes know the feeling of freedom, adventure, fun and happiness that can only come from time on a bike – so no matter if you are a world champion, a workday commuter, a weekend warrior or a competitive road racer – the message is still the same:
What a change – from riding endless breathtaking mountain bike trails with good mates every day to the sharp jolt back into the hot seat and the office *OUCH*!! First day back at work and it has been very interesting managing a new timetable and new class responsibilities with continuing commitments for research, work and riding. Returning from such a great riding trip has left me feeling recharged and content, but physically quite tired so it will take a little while to restablize back into office mode after being outdoors and riding every day – although finding author Anna Brones‘ image below made me smile as I donned my formal office wear.
Source: Biking to work is sexy – Anna Brones
I am still trying to get into a rhythm of regular blog posting and the holidays have thrown up myriad challenges. These have given me some very interesting insights into how some of my current choices and routines, either work – or in some cases, don’t work! Such insights inform what I will need to implement to be more strategic with time, tasks and output so I can be more organised and productive.
I have a number of big projects ongoing at the same time. I am conscious that I need to manage my time better so I can give focused, constructive and deliberate input into each of the projects. I also need to check in with my expectations of what needs to be done, and whe;, to make sure that I am not pushing too hard, or if I need to refocus or divert energy, to free up certain periods of time so that my routine is sustainable. I also want to make sure that I don’t feel overwhelmed or that I am getting behind – which, as the University semester gets underway at the end of February, is a constant struggle to manage.
Over the summer I was looking at my favourite writing resources such as The Thesis Whisperer, Jeff Goins, Patter, Brain Pickings, A Life of Productivity and Shut Up and Write sessions and found a truckload of inspiration, techniques and great tips – it is just a case of experimenting with some of the strategies and implementing those that are most useful.
For the next 5 weeks my main Projects are:
Teaching and class management for a new class (5-week block)
Editing a conference paper for publication
Organising and managing the inaugural Bicycles Create Change Summer Program
Prepare and start writing next publication article
Get into a regular routine of posting for this blog
So for the next couple of weeks I will be trying to clarify and consolidate my various commitments to research, work, fitness and family – I do not think I am alone in this regard – no doubt there are many of us coming out of a hectic holiday period and back to work who are all grappling with such challenges and readjustments.
What strategies or resources do you use to help re-orientate yourself after holidays back into intensive work mode?
