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Why doesn't the government just sell these bikes to Africa? They'll maybe(?) gain a bit more value than just smelting down the bikes, it would help China's Afri
by kylehotchkiss 9y ago
Why doesn't the government just sell these bikes to Africa? They'll maybe(?) gain a bit more value than just smelting down the bikes, it would help China's Africa ambitions, and it could make a positive difference in Africa by helping people become slightly more mobile.
And it also takes a few bikes off Chinese sidewalks and out of the trees.
- osdiab 9y agoThey'd probably have to do quite a bit of manual labor on the things without significant cooperation from the bikesharing companies, given that all of them are equipped with locks attached to the frames that can only be unlocked with the ridesharing companies' apps; and many need significant maintenance, if you've ridden these a number of them probably don't really have properly functioning brakes or messed up chains and stuff. Not to mention any brand impact that would have on these bikesharing companies. All surmountable but would stand in the way of making it a slam dunk. That and it's not like Africa is the only impoverished place these can be helpful in. Parts of China itself, as well as many of its neighbors, are in equally perilous status economically. The feeling I get is that the central Chinese government really wants bike sharing to succeed since it has the potential to relatively cheaply solve so many problems, from last mile transit (at least for the able-bodied) to reducing car dependence, but local Chinese governments got saddled with dealing with the chaos of it all.
- macspoofing 9y agoWhat's with this attitude that the solution to issues in Africa is to dump some product on the continent? What are you solving by dumping a massive amount of unwanted, broken down bicycles? And where in Africa? Africa is a huge place.
- i_feel_great 9y agoNot to mention, you need appropriate pathways to ride bikes.
- jpatokal 9y agoNot really: in the Congo, for example, the "highways" have deteriorated so much that bicycles are pretty much the only feasible wheeled mode of transport. https://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/democratic-republic-of-congo-lubumbashi-to-kinshasa.50799/page-9#post-737844 https://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/democratic-re...
- cooper12 9y agoIf that's the case, wouldn't it make more sense to equip them with off-road bikes with features like a suspension, larger tires, multiple gears, panniers to hold bags, and other features than to give them heavy bikes built for riding in cities with step-through frames?
- jpatokal 9y agoI'm not saying we should start shipping Mobikes to the Congo, I'm just noting that bicycles are, in fact, quite usable without a lot of fancy infrastructure.
- gowld 9y agohttps://bikesnotbombs.org/international https://bikesnotbombs.org/international
- cooper12 9y agoI remember reading somewhere that so many people donated t-shirts to Africa that it devastated their local textiles industry. You can't just throw money (or garbage in this case) and expect it to magically fix underlying issues such as with infrastructure. Also, Africa isn't across the street: there are signifiant logistical issues involved. Edit: found an article: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/06/second-hand-clothing-donations-kenya https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/06/second-hand-cl...
- NullPrefix 9y ago>You can't just throw money That's exactly what you should be doing if you want to solve it. By throwing money (cash) directly to the poor you can drive up the local economy.
- stephengillie 9y agoDirect charity creates dependence. The way to solve poverty in Africa is to buy goods from people in Africa. But too many people continue to see the entire continent as incapable of providing value.
- parliament32 9y agoIt probably costs more to ship them than they're worth.