AlmaBike

GOAL

AlmaBike is a unisex city bike specifically designed to meet the needs of university students who prefer an urban choice. After a preliminary competition for students of the University of Bologna, an established design specialist in this field came up with a customised bicycle model. The project is funded by the Italian Ministry for the Environment, which has launched a call for tenders with a view to improving air quality in metropolitan cities. AlmaBike will be produced by the winning tenderer and equipped with an anti-theft GPS sensor, as well as other quality features.

Almabike for research 

50 bicylcles integrated by environmental smart sensors have been deployed for scientific research purpose, in cooperation with DICAM -Roads research Unit and Technion - Israel Institute of Technology. 

Goals: 

• To test an innovative dynamic method on environmental data harvesting. 
• To evaluate impact of environmental awareness on cyclist choice of routes and behaviour.

ACTIVITIES

As of November 2020, the distribution of 600 Almabikes to students who participated in the call for applications began, in the form of a free loan for a maximum of one year. In addition, 50 bicycles will be assigned to staff through a special call for applications for scientific research.

The call for applications for the 2021/2022 a.y. (published on 30 July), expired on 24/09/2021.

The delivery will take place at the end of October and will have to be booked via a special web application.

The student entrusted with the Almabike is required to:

• keep the bike safe by securing it to bicycle racks,
• guarantee the maintenance of the overall quality of the bicycle and the efficiency of the components, providing for ordinary and extraordinary maintenance at its own expense
• guarantee the correct functioning of the GPS tracker, providing for the respective charge with recharging cycles at intervals of about 48 hours.

FOR MORE INFORMATION SEE THE HANDBOOK AND THE FAQs.