Brazil leads bike-sharing in Latin America, and use is increasing

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Bikesharing has become an increasingly important transportation mode in Latin America. According to the study “Micromobility in the Global South”, launched by startup Tembici, a bike-sharing platform and partner of Itaú and iFood, there has been a 400% growth in the use of these means of transportation in Latin America in the last decade.

Still, according to 52% of the respondents, if there were no possibility of electric bikes, they would use motorized vehicles for their trips.

“With the large growth in the use of bicycles in cities, including during the pandemic period, we understood that it was necessary to gather the information about shared bicycles and the social and environmental impacts involved in a large study. We conducted a survey with approximately 5,700 respondents, several data analyses of the systems, and multiple methodologies,” explains Carolina Rivas, CIO at Tembici.

Latin America has more than 45,000 bicycles and 75 bike-sharing systems operating in 13 countries – Brazil being the country with the largest bike-sharing offer on the continent, representing 33% of the total.

In Brazil, Tembici is responsible for 72% of the systems in the cities where it operates, totaling more than 65 million trips. The company estimates that more than 7,000 tons of carbon dioxide were saved in 2021 alone by using its systems.

About 58% of the respondents also said that they use the bicycle as a means of transportation to go to or return to work, reinforcing the importance of the modal for commuting. In addition, 27% combine the use with other means of transportation, 82% being buses or subway.

Among the reasons most cited by people who choose to ride a shared bike in the cities are: 39% use the system because of its comfort (better logistics to pick up and park bikes, no need to own a bike to move around, avoid crowded transportation), 23% because it is good for their health, and 20% to save time and money.

With information from Forbes

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