This project has a double goal that remains unchanged.
Op Wielekes, a sharing system originally set up in Ghent, has plans to provide bicycles to children all over Belgium. To achieve this, it is entering into a partnership with mobility organization Mpact, formerly known as Taxistop.
In an ambitious step to provide bicycles to children throughout Belgium, Op Wielekes, originally a Ghent-based sharing initiative, has announced a partnership with mobility organization Mpact. Op Wielekes was founded in 2014 as an experiment by the Ghent association De Transformisten, but it was soon followed.
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Currently, there are nearly 30 sub-points spread across the country, with more than 1600 members. With the collaboration with Mpact, a Belgian non-profit organization with extensive experience in services such as carpooling and car sharing, Op Wielekes' goal is to further expand the network. Project director Tjalle Groen told this in a interview with the weekly magazine Knack.
Anyone who registers with Op Wielekes can choose from a range of reliable children's bicycles in the depot. After signing a contract, you take the bike home. If the bicycle is too small for your child, return it and you will receive a larger model.
Op Wielekes can be described as a library, but for children's bicycles. It is a network of sharing points where children from two to twelve years old can borrow a high-quality custom bicycle against a membership fee. The initiative not only serves a social purpose, with members paying 20 to 35 euros annually (or nothing at all if they return a bicycle), but also has an ecological purpose. Used children's bicycles are repaired and given a new lease of life with other young users.
This project has a double goal that remains unchanged: to provide quality bicycles to children of parents with limited financial resources and to promote the transition to a circular economy.
With the new cooperation hopes On Wielekes increase the reach of their services and help a greater number of children across Belgium. Mpact, with their extensive expertise in mobility services, will be a valuable partner in realizing this ambition. The joint efforts of both organizations are expected to have a positive impact on children's mobility, as well as social inclusion and sustainability in the country.
