Oslo’s blue and white workhorses are now retired. (Photo: Anette Broteng Christiansen/ThorNews)

On Monday, the Oslo city bike racks are emptied for the winter. In the spring, brand new bicycles arrive the Norwegian capital.

Oslo’s blue and white workhorses are history, and now they get a new life in a slightly warmer climate: They are sent to schoolchildren in Cuba.

The bikes were designed in Oslo, and after 13 years of service, they will be replaced with 3000 new, more futuristic and user-friendly bicycles.

On November 30, the bikes are collected and retired. When the season reopens on April 1, 2016, the entire bike park has a different look.

Many have wondered what fate the old bikes meet, and it is confirmed that they are shipped to Cuba.

Since 1999, the project Sykler til Cuba (Bicycles for Cuba) has shipped nearly 40 containers with bicycles. When this year’s season is over, the city bikes are placed in a container shipped by boat from Oslo harbor.

From 2016, Urban Infrastructure Partner (UIP) will be operating Oslo city bikes commissioned by Clear Channel. The new bike is five kilograms lighter. In addition, they have doubled the number of bicycles, spreading them all over the city.

Clear Channel Norway supports the Cuba project by donating bikes, while UIP and Nordea Bank in Oslo finance the freight. A portion of the old bikes will be utilized in plants in other cities that use the same type.

Text modified by: Anette Broteng Christiansen, ThorNews

Source: Osloby

Categories: Culture, Sports & Health