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By RHICK LARS VLADIMER ALBAY and ADRIAN STEWART CO
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ILOILO City is fast becoming one of the top bike-friendly locales in the country, and a popular cycling initiative from Manila is ready to push the city even further and take our metro by storm.
Bamb EcoLogical Technology Inc. founder Bryan McClelland was in Iloilo recently to deliver and launch their bamboo bike / “BamBike” renting program – first popularized as an alternaive mode of transpo to tour the historical walled-city of Intramuros in Manila – at the Iloilo Business Park.
The “BamBike” Project is an initiative of a Gawad Kalinga (GK) resettlement in Victoria, Tarlac that handmakes bamboo bicycles and provides people with sustainable livelihoods.
McClelland came up with the idea in 2007 when he was still a volunteer for Gawad Kalinga, but it wasn’t until 2010 that he officially started the business..”
The bikes are made from locally-sourced bamboo, McClelland told CNN Philippines in an interview.
“Bamboo is interesting and is arguably the greenest building material on the planet,” he said. “When you take that and build a bicycle, which is arguably the greenest or most efficient machine ever created by man, you have a bamboo bike. And what we’re hoping to do… build the greenest bikes on the planet.”
The bamboos used to create the bicycle frames are cut from mature poles only. Abaca fiber and resin are used for the lugs, while the connection points are made out of aircraft-grade aluminium. McClelland adds that supporting the bamboo bicycle is also a way of helping the GK organization.
Iloilo City Sports Division head Rommel Castro said that the bike rental program has the backing of mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, who is committed to making Iloilo the most bike-friendly city in the country.
“Mayor Jed is glad with the initiative by the Iloilo Business Park to have a bike rental program,” Castro told Panay News. “This program also helps the city promote a healthy lifestyle and cleaner environment.”
“For Ilonggos, riding a bike is not only as a hobby but also a complete alternative vehicle for sustainable lifestyle which the city is known for,” he added. “We hope that Ilonggos will go here in IBP to try our bambikes.”
Rental of the BamBikes started Aug. 8. Th BamBike rack and stall is located in front of the Cable Caf bistro inside the Iloilo Business Park. Bike rental costs P60 per hour, or at P10 per loop ride around the 2.4-km bikelanes o IBP. (with a report from CNN Philippines/PN)
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