Friday, April 10, 2009

Pedal Powered Business

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On the list of projects that we have planned for Hogaza Hogaza is to start delivery in Ensenada by bike. I knew a bunch bike couriers back in Toronto, but it is nice to see that other businesses have been taking the idea of bike transportation more seriously.



Jed Lazar doesn't ride an average bike. Then again, he’s not riding it for average reasons. Although many of us don a helmet and mount our cycles in order to get to work, pick up groceries or just spend an afternoon outside, Lazar’s reason for cycling is all business. Co-founder of Soupcycle, Lazar rides his bike around the streets of Portland delivering handmade, organic soup. But because of a multitude of reasons, Lazar’s business isn't the only one that’s harnessing the power of pedaling.



What Ensenada is experiencing in the recent push for a bike lane by groups like Grupo Pro CiclovĂ­a is a trend throughout North America;



“I think the recent explosion in biking is both a return on our communities’ investments in encouragement programs and infrastructure - bike lanes, paths, bike boulevards, etc. - and a sign of increasing concern about economics, health, and the environment. We are seeing a much greater diversity of people out biking and even bike commuting these days,” says Stephanie Noll, Bicycle Transportation Alliance Programs Manager. Noll also points out that the reason for choosing cycles over cars is multi-faceted. “The increasing cost of driving or concern about the environment alone are generally not enough for most of our communities’ members to imagine themselves on a bike.”



This trend can be in all types of business;



Another Portland based company, Q19, operates its sustainable cleaning service (they use 100% ecological and petrochemical-free cleaning agents) with the help of bikes for the same reason. “Q19 came about out of a local property management firm’s need for an accountable, high quality, consistent service provider… Utilizing Bakfiets, or Dutch work bikes, became a vital way to achieve all of our objectives- creating happy, healthy, empowered work environments, limiting our impact on the environment, and building a financial viable company,” says Hannah Sandmeyer, Q19’s Managing Director.


In an eco-conscious era, both Q19 and Soupcycle have seen a positive customer response; running operations with bikes proves the companies’ commitments to responsible business plans. “People are drawn to Q19 because we provide a high quality sustainable service in addition to representing change they can believe in,” says Sandmeyer




But it is important to note that all these businesses have come about thanks to infrastructure that exists in Portland. I hope that the Ensenada city hall can see the economic benefits to the city by bicycle based infrastructure.


story via Boing Boing and Wend Magazine;


Pedaling to Profit: The Upswing of Bike Powered Business


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