About the Site Email Newsletter Links to Cycling Organisations
Bicycle and Public Transport Bicycle Network Planning Bicycle Strategies & Plans Bike Share Programs Cycling Data End of Trip Facilities Facility Design / Engineering Land Use Planning Mobility Management
Cycling Skills: Information for Riders Cycling Skills: Programs and Resources Organisations Professional Development Research
Awards and Recognition Behaviour Change Programs Economic Benefits of Cycling Environmental Benefits of Cycling Health Benefits of Cycling Maps Marketing Ride to School Ride to Shops Ride to Work Social Benefits of Cycling Women in Cycling
Bicycle Regulations Overviews Solutions Statistics & Common Crashes
Cycle Tourism: Promotion Cycle Tourism: Strategies Organisations Recreation: BMX Facilities Recreation: Off Road Facilities and Trails Recreation: Publications and Resources Recreation: Strategies Recreation: Trail and Facility Design Research
International Local Government National Government State & Territory Government
Cycling Innovations Encouragement & Promotion Enforcement & Road Safety Engineering & Planning Funding

Search

Font Decrease Font Normal Font Increase Print

Female Bikers as Indicator for Street Safety in Latin America

by Jonna McKone, November 9, 2010, The City Fix

 

Lima, Peru is a megacity with a population approaching 9 million. It is notorious for its sprawling growth, vast slums and mobility issues stemming from a spike in car ownership and cab usage beginning in the 1990s. To deal with some of the problems in the country, The World Bank provided loans through the Transport Rehabilitation Project (TRP) to improve road maintenance and mobility of the poor , specifically women, by focusing on biking. Funded until 2000, the project fell down on a number of fronts, however, the city has taken on a renewed focus on mobility with its work to develop Metropolitano, a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Lima, and biking activism is gaining ground, especially with a new law in Peru that gives priority to biking legislation.

In the mid 1990s, The World Bank loaned $200 million to Peru, ”designed to provide credit to low-income formal and informal sector workers to buy bikes, so they could access jobs.” Only those who could prove the bikes were used to access places of work were provided with the loans.  The Bank thought the city was conducive to biking because of its flat terrain and mild weather, but a host of problems have hindered bike usage, including institutions and companies that failed to meet the requirements of the loan, like conducting outreach, and loss of funds, specifically for  bike lanes. In 1999, only 2 percent of bikers surveyed in Lima were women, a possible indicator that there were some major concerns with cycling infrastructure construction, marketing and safety.

Read More