Bicycle Sharing Program

The TUMI Challenge in historical Hoi An, Vietnam supported the city to promote non-motorized modes of transport by improving the bicycle infrastructure and introducing the first Public Bike Sharing Scheme (PBS). The project has proved how far the switch to active mobility can positively impact its citizens and be as efficient as the motorized options, serving both locals and tourists. The shock of Covid also reiterated this fact when citizens in Hoi An used the system for safe public transport to and from the market.

Project Description

Mobility in Hoi An is mostly based on motorbikes and cars. These two means of transportation have sadly displaced the bicycles and pedestrians from cities in Vietnam, which once thrived on active mobility. On a push towards sustainability and fulfilling on the promise of becoming the first Ecocity in Vietnam, Hoi An put efforts into active mobility and set up a bike sharing pilot project and business scheme to promote and support its switch back to sustainable and active mobility.

The city worked on all those initiatives on shared and active mobility first deployed to boost tourism, but then proved to be useful and serve mobility needs for residents, during the Covid 19-Pandemic restrictions.

During the project, the “Hoi An Bicycle Plan” was created and approved by the Hoi An Peoples Committee, which is meant to act as a comprehensive, mid‐term policy vision. The identified actions on bicycle development were taken into account during the project implementation by all parties involved (HealthBridge of Canada, WRI, GIZ, and TUMI).

Process

Project launch and kick-off workshop with participants from Hoi An Authority and other stakeholders.
MoU between HealthBridge and Hoi An People’s Committee (city government)
Field Collaborative and Participative Research

Bicycle Transportation Development Plan: support and technical assistance.
Development of a safe bicycle network (for future expansion)
Road improvements (segregated bicycle lanes, intersections improvement, trees plantation)
Development of a business model for the bicycle sharing program, PPP with QIQ company.
Development of a communication plan, together with Hoi An Department of Information and Culture, to promote residents’ support for the Bicycle Development Plan.

September 2019: Introduction of Bike Share system

2020 and beyond: Refocus after Covid to provide services to citizens and city officals transport

2021: Program has been put on hold due to Covid related budget restrictions of QIQ and Hoi An City

Project's Objective

The project’s main objectives were:

Supporting the city to promote non-motorized mobility
Improving the bicycle infrastructure in the city
Introducing a public bike sharing system and a business plan

Key Solutions

2.5 km of improved bicycle infrastructure & improvement of five intersections
Support in the development of the Bicycle Transportation Development Plan
Introduction of the first Public Bike Sharing Scheme (PBS) in Hoi An
COVID-19 response: shifted focus from tourists to residents, promoting cycling

Main Outcomes

Improvement of the 2.5 km Hai Ba Trung – An Bang route for cycling
Roads and infrastructure improvement to increase the safety of the cyclists riding from the historic city center to the local beach.
Hoi An Public Bike Sharing Scheme (PBS)
Purchase of 225 mechanical bikes, as well as the introduction of reduced speed zones.
Financing of 100 e-bikes by QiQ (company operating the PBS) and operating them within the system.
Improved awareness and support of local residents & Hoi An authority for the Bicycle Transportation Development Plan.
Cycling Events for World Bicycle Day and the EU Climate Diplomacy Week “Youth and Climate Change” with extensive media coverage and more than 400 participants.
Collaboration and support of Hoi An authority, hotel owners and tour operators on how to expand bike stations and increase NMT mode share.
Air quality improvement and reappropriation of public space by commuters through sustainable mobility.

Challenges and Learnings

Learnings

Strong commitment from the local Government is very significant for the project’s success. Hoi An Government’s vision to become an eco-city an advantage for the project implementation.
Keep local stakeholders in the loop. If possible, invite those that are relevant to take part in the different initiatives and actions, to build political support, awareness, and acceptance of the implemented measures.
Long term partnerships between the local government and other stakeholders were key to support the project throughout the implementation.
Build acceptance and awareness locally: work together with community and direct informative campaigns and pilot solutions to adapt to the needs of users.
Establish key partnerships with local business and develop a business model to assure long term sustainability of both infrastructure, biking units and overall, the bike-sharing system.
It is recommended to locally or regionally source materials, products and operators needed for the implementation of the project to avoid difficulties in shipping and customs. Furthermore, local/regional purchases will also contribute to local value creation, and services can be easier to obtain (e.g., maintenance, guarantee claims).

Challenges

As existing national road design and marking standards do not always correspond with the international standards for active mobility (urban cycling), several technical proposals/advice for the route improvement were not accepted by authorities and delayed the project.

Potentials for Scaling Up

The successful implementation of the project in Hoi An, lead to a Developpp.de project to be implemented in other cities that share same demographic, geographic, connectivity characteristics and had similar environmental goals to achieve.

A Developpp.de program is now being implemented in the city of Hue, Vietnam, in cooperation with Vietsoftpro, Thua Thien Hue People’s Committee, and the Department of Science and Technology (DST). The project, built upon the ideas of the Hoi An success, aims to ‘Promote and pilot a public bike-sharing scheme in Vietnam towards sustainable urban mobility and smart cities’. This successful replication demonstrates that further projects in other cities in Vietnam or neighboring countries, as well as partnerships with additional companies from the private sector, are possible and have noteworthy potential.

Furthermore, GIZ and Healthbridge have collaborated to introduce comprehensive national cycling design guidelines to the Ministry of Construction. A national approval is expected in 2023 to become binding law for safe sustainable design of cycling infrastructure.

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Video | Becoming an Ecocity with a Bicyle Plan

Flickr Photos | TUMI Challenge Hoi An

Final Report | Establishing Comprehensive Bicycle Plan and low-cost Bicycle Sharing Program

The Team

Frederic Tesfay

Project Manager

Mechanical Engineer who immediately went into project management within the field of construction; having worked two years in USA and a further five years for GIZ in Africa focused on project implementation. After developing a strong focus on monitoring and controlling, he successfully began managing projects in the field of technical education and capacity building in Asia.

Focus Areas: TUMI Data, TUMI Labs, TUMI E-Bus Mission

Supported by

WRI

World Resources Institute

WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities helps create accessible, equitable, healthy and resilient urban areas for people, businesses and the environment to thrive. Together with partners, it enables more connected, compact and coordinated cities. The Center expands the transport and urban development expertise of the EMBARQ network to catalyze innovative solutions in other sectors, including water, buildings, land use and energy. It combines the research excellence of WRI with 15 years of on-the-ground impact through a network of more than 250 experts working from Brazil, China, Ethiopia, India, Mexico and Turkey to make cities around the world better places to live.

WRI Website

GIZ

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

GIZ provides services worldwide in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development. GIZ has over 50 years of experience in a wide variety of areas, including economic development and employment, energy and the environment, and peace and security. The diverse expertise of our federal enterprise is in demand around the globe, with the German Government, European Union institutions, the United Nations and governments of other countries all benefiting from these services. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is the main commissioning party, but GIZ also works with the private sector, fostering successful interaction between development policy and foreign trade.

GIZ Website

BMZ

Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development

The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is headed by the Minister, Svenja Schulze, the Parliamentary State Secretaries, Dr. Bärbel Kofler and Niels Annen, and the State Secretary, Jochen Flasbarth. When Germany provides a developing country with a low-interest loan, when German experts advise the government of a partner country on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) or when private German organisations carry out projects in developing countries, these are all approaches involving direct development cooperation between Germany and its partners. Besides engaging in such bilateral development cooperation activities, Germany is also involved in activities for the benefit of the developing countries at the international level.

BMZ Website