Totes en Bici

Totes en Bici is a cycling initiative aimed at empowering 2,500+ women, specifically mothers, in Santa Coloma de Gramenet. The project focuses on increasing cycling uptake through bike lessons, family rides, and behavior-change interventions, while training local women to lead and sustain the programme long-term.

The project seeks to bridge the gap between gender, transport, and health sectors. Through cycling education and advocacy, we aim to equip women caregivers with the skills and confidence to move freely, access new opportunities, and improve their own and their families’ health.

Women (and) caregivers face disproportionate barriers to cycling, from safety concerns to social norms, limiting their access to the benefits of active mobility. These make it more difficult for them to access the immediate and long-term benefits that traveling by cycle could afford them and their families; including improving physical and mental well-being while also fostering independence and socio-economic opportunities.

Empowering mothers through cycling therefore is not just about transportation—it is about gender equality, economic opportunity, and better health outcomes. Cycling can reduce commuting burdens, expand job prospects, while also setting a positive example for children, encouraging active lifestyles from an early age.

In Santa Coloma de Gramenet a multi-sector group of stakeholders has come together to rally around this challenge to make ensure opportunity for women caregivers in the area.

Overall objective: Test different interventions through a ‘cycling promotion lab’ to gain contextual insights on how to best empower caregivers to cycle. These insights will be delivered to local and regional stakeholders.

Target audiences: Women caregivers (with a particular focus on migrant women) and their families residing in Santa Coloma de Gramenet. The emphasis on these specific groups is related to their interconnected behavioural tendencies and the potential to instil healthy habits from an early age.

Approach: In order to increase the use of cycling amongst caregivers in Santa Coloma de Gramenet, the programme addresses key barriers that prevent mothers from accessing the benefits of this mode of transportation. This approach – known as the ‘human infrastructure of cycling’ – focuses on the building blocks of awareness, education, access, and stimulation.

This project builds on the learnings and knowledge products from previous projects, especially the guide and toolkit developed as part of the ‘Increasing Access to Cycling Mobilities of Care’ project.

Phase one – September 2024

A train the trainer programme is launched, teaching women to teach other women cycling skills.

Phase two – March 2025

Behavioural change campaigns and cycling culture building methods are introduced and analysed.

Phase three – July 2025

Knowledge dissemination begins, with the results and impact of the initiatives published for both project partners and the public.

Project Implementation Partners:

Nudgd
La CIBA
Biciclot
Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona
Santa Coloma de Gramenet Municipality