RefurbishBike

Refurbishbike

Refurbishbike is a company that collects lost and abandoned bikes from all over the city of Aarhus.

They refurbish the bikes and check that they are safe and legal to ride, and then they rent them out.

A bike can be rented for 179 kr (24 EUR) for 1-30 days. So whether you just need a bike for a day, or a month it’s the same price. If the bike breaks or you need a different size or type, you just hand it back and get another one.

Before the existence of Refurbishbike, the municipality of Aarhus was responsible for tagging abandoned bikes, and then collecting and storing them. They could not sell them, and they didn’t have a good system for lending or donation. Most of the bikes collected would therefore become metal waste and scrapped.

Refurbishbike started April 2021 with a donation of 600 bikes from the municipality depot. But when they started to ask around they found 20.000 abandoned bikes in the care of the municipality in various states of decay.

For each bike that they put back into circulation, 250 kg of Co2 is saved which is the approximate emission for producing a bike, not to mention the financial costs and the extension of lifetime gains from existing bikes.

It takes an average of 3 hours to check a bike and make it ready for service, and Refurbishbike is employing a number of people to do this. Also people from marginalised and vulnerable groups can work there which raises the social impact of company.

Most of the larger cities in Denmark are queueing up to become partners with RefurbishBike as well.

The customers are:
- private citizens who think that renting a bike for 24 euros a month is an easy way to keep a bike in the city;
- tourists that just need a transport for a day or a week. (renting an electric scooter will cost you 24 euros in no time);
- companies that offer bikes to their employees;
- hotels that lend a bike to their guests
- event managers who can offer cheap mobility options to their participants and staff
- festivals who want to give guests a green mobility option.

Circular Strategy: Share

Country: Denmark

GPS tracking and electric bike options

This project of RefurbishBike aims to equip the refurbished rental bikes with a GPS tracker in the locks the company is able to recover any bikes that are not delivered back after the rental period.

By offering a small portable motor with a battery that can be fitted to any bike, RefurbishBike will soon be able to provide electric bikes for rent too. The electric motor will be fitted with a solar panel charging panel.

This option required a bit more care and tracking to be rolled out, but they are working on a method that will work in practical application.

A remote app-controlled bike lock with GPS tracking is also tested out to see if this feature will make RefurbishBike able to provide an actual city bike rent option.

Economic impact
The loss of bikes could be prevented in this way, therefore minimising the costs related to this aspect.
The use of the remote app-controlled bike lock could make RefurbishBike able to provide an actual city bike rent option.

Social impact
Being able to track the bikes around the city will help in recovering bikes after use. It will offer a new line of jobs for the people who have to pick them up and bring them back. Vulnerable and marginalised target groups can easily carry out these jobs.

Environmental impact
By tracking bikes they can minimise further loss of rent bikes that are left around town, and it will be easier to recover them, using less fuel and time for the search.

Human resources
The personnel/staff who could handle these jobs of picking up the bikes. This could be done also by vulnerable/marginalised people.

Financial resources
Less financial resources will be needed as by this tracking service bikes can be collected more easily and more efficiently.

Other resources
No other resources were mentioned.