Volunteers from around the Stevens Point area gathered hundreds of Spin bikes, which were spread throughout the city, and brought them to a local auto shop where they were stored and repaired while awaiting shipment.
Between August and December of 2018, Wisconsin-Nicaragua Partners sent one hundred and twenty-three bikes to Central America’s largest country. A local fire department received thirty of them, where they are used to assist with Emergency Medical Services, and the rest have been distributed to Learning Centers. There, students use the bicycles to transport materials, such as backpacks or books, to far away places. Some of the bikes have even been equipped with seated carts to fulfill transportation needs.
Nicaraguan Firefighters on Spin Bikes (Photo Courtesy of Wisconsin-Nicaragua Partners)
As micro-mobility companies grow their fleets, the question of what to do with retired vehicles looms large. “Bike Graveyards,” in China, where unused surpluses accumulate, have been widely publicized.
At Spin, we are tackling this challenge head-on. As a vision and values-based business, our actions and practices align with our beliefs. Twenty percent of our retired bikes are donated to programs like the ones in Nicaragua, while the rest have either been repurposed for continued use, or, in the case of mechanical failure and substantial wear and tear, responsibly recycled.
Our environmentally-conscious practices extend to our scooters, as well. When dealing with a unit in need of repair, whenever possible, we “transplant” the needed part from an out-of-use model. As a last resort, if a scooter has had its day and is beyond repair, we’ll break it down to its raw materials and recycle it.
We pride ourselves on being a community-focused company, and we always want to do our part to make the world a better place — whether it be through reimagining urban mobility, locally, or uniting in common humanity, globally. We’re grateful that our bikes have found a new home, and that our vision for empowering people through transportation is relevant and meaningful — from San Francisco to Nicaragua, and beyond.
