Cycling Visionaries Awards - Project Details

BikeEverywhere - Commuter Videos

BikeEverywhere is an initiative to encourage more people to cycle (well, everywhere) by helping cyclists navigate the busiest routes in and out of the CBD through a series of helpful videos. BikeEverywhere has produced a video series that is shot from a cyclist’s point of view and shows a new cyclist how to best handle the challenges of cycling on the road in Wellington, New Zealand.

BikeEverywhere is an initiative to encourage more people to cycle (well, everywhere) by helping cyclists navigate the busiest routes in and out of the central business district through a series of helpful videos.

BikeEverywhere has produced a video series that is shot from a cyclist’s point of view and shows a new commuter how to best handle the challenges of sharing the road in Wellington, New Zealand. These videos highlight the fantastic cycling opportunities in Wellington, show some alternate routes that are more cyclist-friendly, and demonstrate safe behaviour at tricky intersections that are unavoidable. A website with clear, consistent branding was developed for sharing the video content online. Social media was targeted as well with BikeEverywhere having a relatively popular Facebook page.

Each video is location specific: they cover entire routes between nine suburbs and the central business district. The videos are edited down to 4 to 6 minutes for quick viewing (rather than the full hour!). Experienced cyclists narrate the videos with location specific advice, suggesting little tips for how to best ride around a specific roundabout, or where to position yourself at a tricky intersection. The videos also feature onscreen text tips and street names to provide some visual cues too.

BikeEverywhere started in 2011 as the BikeWise Commuter Series with the support of the Greater Wellington Regional Council, New Zealand Transport Agency‘s BikeWise initative, Revolve Cycling and Victoria University‘s School of Design. In 2012, the Wellington City Council and Bike Wellington are now also involved in expanding the number of routes covered, promoting cycling as a viable form of transport in the city, and showcasing the lifestyle and economic benefits of cycling in the city.

Moving forward, we are interested in expanding the project nationally by developing a how-to kit to help other interested groups create similar videos that we can link to on our website. We are also more actively promoting BikeEverywhere: creating printed material for distribution, crafting press releases, and targeting more major non-cycling focused websites together with a social media campaign.

BikeEverywhere is a research project by Kah Chan. He is supported by the Wellington City Council, Victoria University’s Summer Scholarships, and his Summer Scholar - Chris Callus. The video volunteers are from the Greater Wellington Regional Council, the kind people from Bike Wellington and Bushlove Racing, and from the School of Architecture.