This 2024 marks a rebirth for EnCicla, the Public Bicycle System of the Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley, which went from abandonment, to a recovery plan that advances with investments of more than $15 billion pesos, focused on restoring the functionality and quality of this free transportation system, which will once again be a benchmark for sustainable mobility in the country.
At the beginning of the year, EnCicla’s diagnosis showed a critical situation: only 42% of the bicycle fleet was operational, while 87% of the stations had structural and physical problems. In addition, the system faced the lack of inventory of spare parts and tools for the maintenance of both bicycles and stations, four types of technologies, and the 663 bicycles acquired in 2023 which had structural damage. However, with a comprehensive recovery strategy that encompasses stations, technology, bicycles and citizen culture, EnCicla is beginning to resurface.
Cristina Zambrano, executive director of ACI Medellín, highlighted the importance of EnCicla and the effort to recover it: “the Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley has invested time and resources in building a system like EnCicla, which is not only a model in Colombia, but also worldwide, providing free mobility to thousands of people. Today we are proud of the actions underway to recover and strengthen this jewel of sustainable mobility, key for Medellín and its neighboring municipalities.”
Some of the improvements made to date include:
- Bicycle maintenance: 1,122 bicycles were washed, something that had not been done in five years. Saddles, handlebars, rims, brakes, and other elements have been restored to the bicycles to ensure safety and functionality.
- Recovery of stations: Representative stations for users have been restored, including La Picacha La 76, Pablo Tobón Uribe Theater, Parques del Río and Unicentro, some of the most affected by vandalism. A new station has also been launched in the South Terminal, with capacity for 32 bicycles.
- Safety badge pilot: As part of the safety measures implemented to protect EnCicla’s infrastructure, the safety badge pilot has been launched in the most vandalized automatic stations. The main objective of this system of plates is to prevent the theft of technological elements from the stations.
- Technological diagnosis: to solve system failures, progress is made in the diagnosis of the four technologies used for the operation and to make the best decisions regarding the technological component.
- Institutional presence: the institutional presence around the stations of the system has been strengthened to mitigate theft.
For Paula Palacio Salazar, director of AMVA: “This investment not only seeks to reactivate bicycle mobility, but also to strengthen the sustainable mobility ecosystem, integrating citizens in the care of this system that belongs to everyone and works for everyone.”
Thanks to this effort, EnCicla continues to position itself as an example of sustainable mobility in the region.
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With these advances, EnCicla continues its mission to offer an environmentally responsible transport alternative, contributing to sustainable urban development and the construction of a culture of mobility in the Aburrá Valley.