CESTA

Promotion of Bicycle and Tricycle Use in El Salvador

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DISTRIBUTION OF BICYCLES AND TRICYCLES

The general objective to be achieved in this program area is:

to facilitate the acquisition of bicycles and tricycles to all the social sectors in El Salvador

In El Salvador a good percentage of the population can not buy a bicycle on cash terms, even a considerable sector may not be in a position to buy a bicycle by installments, since they have no purchasing power. This meens that a financing strategy to allow the acquisition of a bicycle by the lower income groups has to be adopted, otherwise the bicycle will, end up only in the hands of the affluent people.

As far as the distribution of bicvcles is concerned, 3 economic groups can be differentiated:

1. The affluent groups. To this people the bicycles will be sold cash or with 2 or 3 installments.

2. The low income groups. These groups include the students and workers who use the public transportation system and whose modest salary does not allow them to buy a US$ 120 bicycle. To these groups a bicycle is going to be sold by installments in such a way that the amount to be paid every month is similar to what they spend now in buses.

   A person that spends US$ 5 every month in buses, could devote this sum to pay a US$ 120 bicycle in 2.5 years. This means that a person can obtain a bicycle without worsening his or her economic situation and after 2.5 years own a bicycle that can last him or her 20 or more years and reduce to the minimum the transportation costs in the future. In places such as factories, universities or high schools where the authorities could be interested in promoting the bicycle use among their workers and students, a commitment will be sought to have the adninistrative offices of these enterprises to collect the monthly payments from the workers or the students.

   Also the support of the enterprises will be requested to obtain a loan fron a local bank to finance the acquisition of the bicycles to the workers. This would allow CESTA to have a rapid recovery of the investment and use it in the production of more bicycles. To the workers or students from these factories or schools, the bicycles could be given with the brand or logos from the factory or the school. This propaganda will be like a payment for the services of the administration. When no interest exist on the side of the administration, CESTA will have to finance the acquisition of the bicycles to the workers and the students.

3. The groups with no purchasing power. This includes basically the unemployed sector or people that can not face any financial commitments no metter how small they might be, because they have no income. The treatment to this sector is somewhat more complicated because the bicycle is not going to be sold just as a transportation mechanisn but also as a device to carry out an income generating activity which will allow the cyclist to pay the monthly installments of the bicycle and to take care of his or her own living expenses.

   Bicycles can be used to transport goods and hence to generate jobs. This can be done with the aid of baskets or trallers, or even better if a tricycle is used, as it is shown in the chapters 3, 4 and 5 of the reference book. Among the activities that can be done with bicycles and tricycles, the following will be promoted:
   
   

   1. Transport of people (with richshaws or becaks) as it is done in Asia, including handicapped and sick people
   2. Transport of goods to the markets
   3. Transport of goods from the markets to the customer's homes
   4. Collection of garbage and reciclable materials and their transport to their recicling centers
   5. Distribution of goods such as newspapers, bread, milk, tortillas, etc.
   6. Public street vendors
   7. Transport of agricultural inputs and building materials
   8. Transport of medicines and medical equipment for the health workers

   There are other incone generating activities that will also be developed such as bicycle rent for tourists or rent of tricycles and bicyles for kids.

CESTA will do the research to find out the activities where the use of bicycles and tricycles for the transportation of goods is economically feasible, then the vehicles with all the required accesories are going to be furnished to the workers. These workers are going to be organized in coops or associations to facilitate the acquisition of funds to finance these activities. With this sector the benefits of the bicycle promotion program are not limited to the use of bicycles as transportation mechanisms but they also include the creation of jobs, something very important and necessary in El Salvador.