MUBi

MUBi carries out behaviour change initiatives, awareness raising activities and political lobbying for provision of adequate urban cycling conditions. MUBi is currently one of the most important contributors to bicycle adoption in Portugal and is a reference to the media and political institutions. Since April 2011 it undertakes Bike Buddy (http://bikebuddy.mubi.pt/), a bike coaching initiative where volunteer experienced cyclists offer to accompany and advise new urban cyclists on their first experiences cycling in the city. At the moment it covers 5 cities in Portugal. Despite the relatively low resources committed to disseminating the initiative to the general public, it has been a success both in terms of new cyclists, media attention and growth of number of coaches. These results indicate that a higher commitment of communication and training resources has the potential to multiply the impact of Bike Buddy. MUBi endeavoured other relevant awareness and behaviour change initiatives, namely Rodas de Mudança (Wheels of Change) – promoting the use of bicycle through the power of image – , Selo “Empresa/Instituição Amiga das Bicicletas” (“Bike Friendly Organization” Label) – a labelling system for organizations in partnership with the Municipality of Lisbon and the mobility manager EMEL – and Sexta de Bicicleta (Friday on Bicycle) – a social dynamization initiative to persuade people to use the bicycle on Fridays. At the European level MUBi participated in the networking and knowledge exchange project VOCA – Volunteers of Cycling Academy. Since 2012 MUBi has also had a crucial role in putting forward at the political level some of the bicycle user needs at the local (Lisbon) and national level (recent Parliamentary discussion of the revision of the Road use Law). Its strength comes from the growing number of cyclists and its members, which partly have joined thanks to initiatives like Bike Buddy.