Refurbished BTN BikeShare bikes heading to Malawi to support communities 

Approximately 100 BTN BikeShare bikes will soon be shipped to Malawi to support communities in the southeast African country.

As part of our work to reuse, recycle or repurpose the old BikeShare fleet removed from the streets in late December, 110 chain driven bikes will be assessed to see if they can be converted and donated to charity ‘Cycle of Good’.

The bikes will then be shipped to Malawi where they will be used by local communities.

Bikes which can’t be converted will be stripped down for reusable parts and recyclable materials. 

Some parts will go to help maintain e-bikes for council staff, with the rest going to local cycling charity Re:Cycle. All remaining parts will be broken down into component materials for recycling.

We’ll be sharing more information about what will be happening with the rest of the fleet soon, but the hope is the vast majority of materials will be either reused, recycled or repurposed according to circular economy principles. 

More about Cycle of Good

Cycle of Good is a trading initiative raising funds for the charity ‘Krizevac Project’ and joins a hub of social enterprises created over the past ten years. 

Situated in Chilomoni Township, Malawi, the enterprises together employ 500 people who have trained and worked to create businesses that fund a vital children’s centre. 

The centre provides early years care and family support to around 2000 vulnerable children at any one time. 

In 2010 they were gifted nearly 20,000 bicycles from Royal Mail. They chose to refurbish a limited edition of 5000 bikes in their UK warehouse; they are sold as Elephant Bikes, and each one sold pays for another bike to be sent to Malawi.

Zoe Kasiya Cycle of Good UK Manager said: “We’re blown away by the generosity of Brighton & Hove City Council for donating these bikes to our charity, they will be put to good use over in Malawi where they will help to transform a community.”

Scheme sustainability

Councillor Steve Davis, Co-Chair of the Environment, Transport and Sustainability committee said: “This is a fantastic use of the old BikeShare fleet and demonstrates how sustainable schemes like this can be.

“The bikes have been tremendous servants to the people of Brighton & Hove for many years and will go to a charity doing amazing work with communities in Malawi.  

“We have a new-look scheme coming in the spring, but it’s great to know that some of the old bikes will be put to such good use.”

New scheme coming in the spring

Last month we agreed a contract with the UK’s leading micromobility provider, Beryl, to deliver the city’s new e-bike share scheme.

Work is now underway between the council and Beryl to relaunch a new and improved scheme in the spring of 2023.