a‘Rekola‘ – an unusual way of bike sharing

‘Rekola’ (could be translated as rebike) is a community bikesharing. It’s a very recent project which started in April 2014 and initiated by two young men from association Rekola.cz. They are using old bicycles which are repaired and painted in pink. It’s for everyone, without any bike stands, just find a bike in one of four Czech cities – Prague, Brno, Olomouc and Pardubice – and go!

How does it work?

Every rider has a mobile phone application where he or she can see the availability of pink bikes near their surroundings. You just come to a bike which has its own code, you write the code in the mobile application which shows you a code for the lock on the bike. And you can go! When you don’t need the bike anymore, you lock it in the nearest place. After locking it, you select in the phone application that you have returned the bike and specify its location.

If you want to use this bikesharing, you can choose to pay one year membership which costs 36 euros, or one month membership for 7 euros.

The pink colour of their bikes is not chosen by chance, it has two important functions. Firstly, potential thefts are limited because pink bike with the logo of Rekola.cz discourages robbers as they cannot sell the bikes easily in any bazaars. Secondly, pink bike is very visible and so it can be easily found on the street. And lastly, the colour of community areas is pink and they believe that re-kola should be for everyone.

What’s more, the project organizers are looking for new bikes and they appreciate any kind of old, dirty, non-working kind of bicycle. It’s a great way of recycling, isn’t it?!

Open Bikes In Riga, Latvia

Open Bikes is a non-profit organization – a community bicycle workshop - concerned with promoting a fix-it-yourself culture regarding bicycles. There are several directions that the organization takes. Firstly, the initial idea is to ensure the exchange, recycling and upcycling process of the bicycle parts, tools and accessories. Another focus is put on educating the society on the topics of basic bicycle maintenance by giving different workshops within bigger events or organizing separate events. In addition, Open Bikes has created a relatively new product which is an outdoor bicycle repair stand meant for public use on the streets. It is a metallic stand holding the basic bicycle repair tools and a rigid pump for everyday use. Four outdoor stations have already been installed in Latvia  and more orders are pending.

Green Cypriots are riding green E-Scooters

Green E-Scooters Ltd was established a Limassol/Cyprus in July 2012. They are the sole importing agents and distributors of Green e-Scooters (electrical powered scooters). All Scooters are Energy Efficient Certified and Registered throughout the European Union. They specialize in both sales and hire of products at competitive rates and offer excellent after sales service support. It is well documented that the emission of tailpipe pollutants from fuel driven vehicles is a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. Pollutants produced by vehicle exhausts include among other things, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide. Hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides react with sunlight and warm temperatures to form ground-level ozone. Ground-level ozone, a main ingredient in smog, can cause upper respiratory problems and lung damage. While ozone found high in the earth’s atmosphere helps protect us from the sun's rays, ground-level ozone, which is not emitted directly into the air, but forms when nitrogen oxide and volatile organic compounds from vehicle exhaust, factory emissions and other sources react with sunlight is extremely harmful to our health. 

Eco winery and 0 greenhouse-emission farm in Umbria

From June 2010 there is one more reason to visit Umbria: Monte Vibiano's eco-tours are the key to discover the secrets of its worldwide-famous wines and olive oil while touring its spectacular estate in central Italy.

All tours are conducted aboard electric vehicles around Monte Vibiano, the first 0 greenhouse-emissions farm in Italy.

Visitors gather at the wine cellar in the valley and from here they board electric vehicles for a ride to the nearby hills and fields, across hectares of vineyards and olive groves. There is always something happening here, no matter the time of the year: from picking grapes for Monte Vibiano's refined red and whites, to hand-picking olives from century-old trees, the eco-tours are always a chance to observe exciting aspects of life in the fields.

Lithuania’s newest, although already big, eco-startup fascinates Richard Branson

 Bike stores in about ten major markets of the world should be reached by electric-bike-engines or Rubbees by November of this year. This initiative by three young guys from Lithuania is a true example of how eco-entrepreneurship can be used to raise the society’s quality of life, as much as benefit the environment.

Rubbee is a small yet miraculous engine, which, according to its developers, allows turning almost any bike electric in a matter of just a few seconds. After fitting the machine weighting only 6.5 pounds (that is about 2.9 kg in case you have wondered) on a normal bike, the no-peddling speed of 25 kilometers per hour can be achieved, and no batteries are required!