Bicycle poverty reduction explained

Bicycle poverty reduction is the concept that access to bicycles and the transportation infrastructure to support them can dramatically reduce poverty.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]} This has been demonstrated in various pilot projects in South Asia and Africa.^{[5] [6] [7]} Experiments done in Africa (Uganda and Tanzania) and Sri Lanka on hundreds of households have shown that a bicycle can increase the income of a poor family by as much as 35%.^{[5] [8] [9]}

Transport, if analyzed for the cost–benefit analysis for rural poverty alleviation, has given one of the best returns in this regard. For example, road investments in India were a staggering 3–10 times more effective than almost all other investments and subsidies in rural economy in the decade of the 1990s. A road can ease transport on a macro level, while bicycle access supports it at the micro level. In that sense, the bicycle can be one of the most effective means to eradicate poverty in poor nations.

See also

• Accessibility (transport)
• Baisikeli Ugunduzi
• Bikes Not Bombs
• Bikes to Rwanda
• BikeTown Africa
• Chukudu
• Pedaling to Freedom
• Transport divide
• With My Own Two Wheels
• World Bicycle Relief

Further reading

• Qhubeka: changing lives through bicycles
• Cycling out of Poverty: a bike delivers on the global goals

External links

• One Bicycle Foundation

Notes and References

1. News: Is It Crazy to Think We Can Eradicate Poverty?. Annie Lowrey. Annie Lowrey. April 30, 2013 . The New York Times. 2013-08-06.
2. News: A Bike for Abel. Nicholas D. Kristof. Nicholas D. Kristof. April 12, 2010. The New York Times. 2013-08-06.
3. News: Practical Help for Afghans. Fred P. Hochberg. Fred P. Hochberg. January 5, 2002. The New York Times. 2013-08-06.
4. Web site: Our Impact . Bicycles Against Poverty . 2013-08-07 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130827152308/http://www.bicyclesagainstpoverty.org/program/ . August 27, 2013 . mdy .
5. Web site: Bicycle: The Unnoticed Potential. BicyclePotential.org. 2013-08-06.
6. Web site: How can the bicycle assist in poverty eradication and social development in Africa? . International Bicycle Fund . 2013-08-06 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140817061234/http://www.ibike.org/pabin/perschon.PDF . August 17, 2014 . mdy .
7. Web site: Pedal Powered Hope Project (PPHP) . Bikes Without Borders . 2013-08-06 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130813170046/http://bikeswithoutborders.org/pedal-powered-hope-project . August 13, 2013 . mdy .
8. Niklas Sieber. Journal of Transport Geography. Appropriate Transportation and Rural Development in Makete District, Tanzania. 1998. 6. 1. 69–73. July 9, 2011. 10.1016/S0966-6923(97)00040-9.
9. Web site: Project Tsunami Report Confirms The Power of Bicycle. World Bicycle Relief. July 9, 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20101226075146/http://www.worldbicyclerelief.org/_images/pdfs/tsunami_measurement.pdf. December 26, 2010. mdy-all.