This week, on Tuesday, December 14, Mandao and its cyclists, together with Citykleta, participated in a small workshop focused on people who make home deliveries on their bikes, a group that is no longer so small, and slowly growing. The event was focused on offering easy tips on how to safely ride a bike in Havana. They also talk about the main problems that affect bicycle couriers in their day-to-day work on the streets of Havana.
Citykleta is a project focused on promoting urban cycling. To achieve this goal, they organize recreational activities, city tours and the empowerment of the cyclist through workshops and events.
About twenty people from Mandao make their deliveries by bicycle in Havana. This group is in charge of covering the urban area of Plaza de la Revolución, Centro Habana, Miramar, Cerro and 10 de Octubre. This is one of the many eco-friendly actions that our company carries out. Reducing the emission of polluting gases in the city is a goal that we have on the horizon. In fact, in the beginning, Mandao tried to carry out its delivery service only with cyclists.
At this time in some of the provinces there are also cycling couriers. In HolguÃn we have three people who make deliveries by bicycle and one in Cienfuegos.
Tips for cyclists and couriers
In the workshop, they discussed the primary inspection that every cyclist must carry out before starting the delivery day: adequate amount of air, operation of the brakes and speed changes, and checking the condition of the chain. The importance of carrying lights and reflectors to be noticed on the road was also highlighted, and if feasible , to get a small tool kit.
The participants spoke about the main problems they face on the road, such as violations of the right of way of cyclists by motor vehicle drivers, the lack of awareness of pedestrians, who do not respect bicycles or ignore their presence. Another problem is the behavior of public transport, both buses and taxis completely ignore the presence of cyclists and lead them to life-threatening situations.
Other topics discussed were the need to occupy the entire right lane of the road to be noticed, the obligation to use high traffic roads due to the poor condition of the intersections and the difficulty in finding items that facilitate road safety (such as lights, reflectors, helmets and tools).
Eco-friendly practices
Mandao seeks to be an eco-friendly company in different ways. The recycling of containers for the deliveries of some products, the reuse of the catauros of its Green Line, and the cycling couriers are some of the actions carried out in pursuit of this goal. After Mandao’s approval as a Mypimes in the Cuban economic scene, the idea is to seek a greater positive impact on the environment and to continue to work to be an ecologically sustainable company.