Bike Centre is inaugurated in Bogotá, with support from the CFF

Bogotá inaugurated its Bike Centre (Centro de la Bici) in May 2018, cementing its status as the cycling capital of Latin America and one of the most ambitious cycling cities in the world. The Bike Centre is the first project in Latin America dedicated to provide training courses and entrepreneurship opportunities for those interested in the 'bike economy': it aims to promote cycling in the city by creating a learning hub where people can develop mechanical and business skills, learn about economic opportunities in the bicycle market, and take bike safety courses.

The Bike Centre is currently working out of a temporary location, but a 17,500m² facility is under construction and is scheduled to open in 2019. It will be a world-leading example of Bicycle-Oriented Design (BOD), and an international competition was held in late 2017 to select the architecture firm. The Bike Centre is a key element in Bogotá's 'Plan Bici', which outlines how Bogotá aims to double the mode share of cycling to 10% of all trips by 2020, through a focus on institutions, new and improved infrastructure, culture, safety, and the environment.

The C40 Cities Finance Facility supported the city in developing the objectives and plans for the Bike Centre through a study tour in Europe in mid-2017, which brought city officials from Bogotá to Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and the United Kingdom to learn about best practices in encouraging cycling-focused economic development. The tour helped Bogotá determine key considerations around how to structure training courses around bike assembly and mechanics, and how to encourage local entrepreneurs to use the Bike Centre as an incubator for their bike-centred business ideas. 

On top of supporting Bogotá in its many cycling initiatives such as the Bike Centre, the CFF, in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Resources Institute, is supporting Bogotá to develop the ‘Ciclo-Alameda Quinto Centenario', a 25 km-long cycle avenue which will connect citizens from low, middle and high-income neighbourhoods with jobs, schools and recreational opportunities, and will support approximately 34,000 bicycle trips in the morning peak hours.