One Street News

Fall 2011

Vol. 4, Issue 8

1. Uganda Trip Postponed Unless Funding Quick
2. One Street Components - Shifters Underway
3. Resources – Cargohopper
4. Hot Topics – Civil Rights and Transportation Equity
5. Supporter Spotlight – New Belgium Brewing Company

Uganda Trip Postponed Unless Funding Quick 

Our next trip to work directly with the leaders of Ride 4 a Woman (R4W) in Uganda may have to be postponed unless significant funding arrives soon. While we’ve received an uplifting number of contributions through our IndieGoGo online campaign, other funding requests have fallen through, leaving our funding nowhere near the level needed to commit to the trip.  

The trip, originally planned for January, will send One Street’s Executive Director, Sue Knaup back to Uganda to build on the basic training and program development steps she and R4W’s leaders accomplished during her last trip in January 2011. During Ms. Knaup’s first trip, R4W leaders gained the skills they needed for basic organization planning, business management and maintenance of their small fleet of rental bikes that support their work to empower local women with bicycles.  

But during those three weeks, Ms. Knaup was only able to offer the very basics in these important management and mechanics skills. The leaders of R4W invited her back in order to learn next level management skills including pricing, inventory control, and customer service as well as next level strategic planning for management, budgeting, increased revenue, and program development for their women’s programs. They also want more in depth train-the-trainer workshops on teaching bike riding and repair so they can offer these classes to their women members.

We had planned to raise up to $8,000 for the trip so that it could include the purchase of more mountain bikes for R4W’s rental fleet (they now have 12 bikes, but need 30) as well as more profession bike mechanic tools and workshop construction materials. The bare minimum to get Ms. Knaup over there is $3,500 and does not include the purchase of any of these needed items. At the moment, we have secured a small grant for $500 and just over $500 through IndieGoGo.  

In order to commit to the trip in January, we must secure at least $3,500 by the end of November to allow enough time to fully plan the trip and purchase a plane ticket. If we do not reach this minimum, we will have to postpone the trip until sufficient funds are raised. We will set aside all funds raised so far toward the trip and ensure they contribute to its eventual success.

Read more about the trip and how to contribute on our One Street to Uganda web page. 

One Street Components - Shifters Underway

By: Sue Knaup, Executive Director 

I spent a very enjoyable few hours yesterday with 13 eager design students at the Ecosa Institute here in Prescott, Arizona. They are digging into our design for a shift lever set that will serve the needs of impoverished people. We launched One Street Components earlier this year in response to the bike industry discontinuing production of basic bike parts, and simple, durable shift levers are the number one urgency.

The students were thrilled to be working on the project, asking lots of questions especially about eventual production at the local level. They want to ensure our local partners can earn income by producing and selling them to help fund their bicycle programs for impoverished people. These students absolutely understand the depth and importance of this project!  

We tore into old shift levers that are no longer made, but resemble the direction the design will likely go. But even these old style shifters that sat on the top of the handlebar had far too many parts. We spent a good amount of time pondering a tiny spring whose sole purpose seemed to be to make a noise when the shifter moved. One student removed that and a few more extraneous parts, reassembled the shifter and triumphantly announced it still worked.

Over the next few weeks, the students will scrutinize potential designs that require very few parts. Two of the parts—the lever that moves and the base that remains stationary—will have to be cast out of aluminum. This is fine because scrap aluminum is plentiful everywhere and can be melted and purified easily. The students will have to design these parts for simplicity so they could also be replaced with carved word or bone if either breaks.  

Their biggest challenge will be determining the remaining parts necessary to allow the shift lever to pull the derailleur cable without it slipping back. These parts also must be made from common materials that are easily replaced or crafted. Let the games begin!

Resources – Cargohopper 

Have you ever wondered if there’s a way to prevent all those monstrous trucks from entering dense city centers where they threaten the lives of cyclists and pedestrians? Well, leave it to the Dutch! They’ve succeeded in implementing a comprehensive policy package that bans trucks from downtown for most of the day and replaces them with a human-sized, simple delivery vehicle called Cargohopper. Enjoy this excellent video on Cargohopper and consider if your city could implement similar policies.

Hot Topics – Civil Rights and Transportation Equity

As One Street’s Social Bike Business program gains popularity, we find ourselves more and more in discussions over the civil right to travel. People who live in poverty cannot afford a car and yet the vast majority of transportation investments only serve privately owned cars. This is so not only true in developed countries, but developing countries as well. 

If you’ve been yearning to voice your anger about this inequity, but lack some great talking points to hold your own, take a look at this article on civil rights and transportation equity. You’ll find in depth background of the problem and some real zingers that will help you leave a lasting impression on officials who’ve forgotten about their constituents who don’t drive. In the U.S., that’s more than 30% of the population. In developing countries, it’s closer to 90%. How have officials gotten away with not providing for the transportation needs of so many people?

Supporter Spotlight – New Belgium Brewing Company 

The New Belgium Brewing Company has come through once again to provide One Street with much needed funding for our Social Bike Business program in the U.S. Their recent grant will fund our work in up to three U.S. cities, one of which is our home base of Prescott, Arizona. Over the next year, we look forward to working with the local leaders in these communities to help them design the best Social Bike Business program for their needs. We’ll guide them through the all important first steps to ensure their program reaches sustainability through providing affordable, durable transportation bicycles and job training to disadvantaged people.

New Belgium has been a top supporter of One Street since our founding in 2007, enabling us to fully develop our Social Bike Business program that is now gaining momentum around the world. We’ve always admired their commitment to helping social needs through their company. From employee innovations that improve the sustainability of their brewery to generous support of socially minded organizations, New Belgium is a pioneer in the new world of social business. If you ever need inspiration for adding social elements to your business, check their website for some terrific ideas. 

Thank you, New Belgium for all your important work and for your continued support of One Street!