EMotorad collaborates with the Green Urban Mobility Innovation Living Lab- a project commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented jointly by GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) and Bosch India. This collaboration aims to promote sustainable urban mobility in India. GIZ has sourced 20 electric cycles from EMotorad to launch Asia’s first Community Owned and Operated Bicycle Sharing Programme in Malleshwaram, Bengaluru.
This initiative is part of GIZ’s ongoing efforts to address the challenges of urban mobility and pollution while promoting eco-friendly transportation solutions. The collaboration with EMotorad underscores the shared vision of both entities to contribute to India’s decarbonisation goals and support the nation’s commitment to a sustainable future.
The cornerstone of this partnership lies in the belief that active mobility can significantly improve urban transportation, reduce pollution, and encourage healthier lifestyles. Through this initiative, EMotorad and GIZ aim to facilitate community-driven solutions by fostering the adoption of electric cycles in urban areas, starting with Bengaluru.
The community from Malleshwaram will manage the entire system through volunteers from within the community. They will charge the users a nominal fee to hire the cycles on rental basis. The fee would be used to improve the operations of the cycle sharing system. It is envisaged that all the profit generated would be fed back to the project. The entire operations will be kept transparent to the community members and regular activities and campaigns will be undertaken to ensure wider adoption of the rental system.
The project is a new social innovation by GIZ and Mr. Manjunath Sekhar, Head, Green Urban Mobility Innovation Living Lab, GIZ said, “Adoption of cycling has a huge positive effect on the environment and health among the community. The resident community has a vision to transform Malleswaram into a neighbourhood of sustainable living. Therefore, GIZ is providing 20 electric cycles to the community and supporting the setup of an operation of a sustainable community owned and operated bicycle sharing system. The proposed project is expected to induce a lifestyle of active mobility among the community members.”
Regarding the partnership, Kunal Gupta, Co-founder and CEO of EMotorad said, “This long-term association with GIZ marks a huge step forward in our commitment to sustainable mobility. By providing e-cycles for the German Development Cooperation in Bengaluru, we are addressing the need for eco-friendly transportation and promoting a shift toward greener habits. We are honoured to partner with GIZ and look forward to long-term project sustainability and innovation globally.”
Through this partnership, EMotorad and GIZ aim to create a replicable model of community-led electric cycle-sharing programs. The project envisions the creation of a sustainable, community-owned, and operated bicycle-sharing system. This system will allow local communities to operate e-cycles through a transparent, volunteer-led management structure that ensures proper maintenance, usage, and financial sustainability.
The partnership also aligns with GUMILL’s objectives, which promotes active mobility to reduce carbon emissions in urban areas. By supporting community-led innovations, the GIZ-EMotorad collaboration seeks to create a long-term behaviour shift toward sustainable transport systems.