CESTA

Promotion of Bicycle and Tricycle Use in El Salvador

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SUMMARY

The present program describes the strategy of the Salvadorean Center of Appropriate Technologv -CESTA- to promote the utilization of bicycles and tricycles as transportation means in El Salvador.

First, the characteristics of the present transportation system are presented with the idea of showing that such a transportation system is not appropriate for El Salvador. Then, the bicycle promotion program is justified by discussing the social, economic, ecologic and political advantages that such mechanisms may offer to the individual and the society.

The objectives and areas of the bicycle promotion program are then shown. They are followed by a description of the intended process of bicycle industry developnmnt in El Salvador, starting from the assembly of bicycles in small decentralized workshops to the development of factories to produce the bicycle parts.

The measures to be taken in order to sensibilize the users and traffic authorities to the need of promoting in El Salvador a passive use of bicycles and tricycles are presented. Then the mechanisms to allow the acquisition of bicycles and tricycles by people from all social sectors, especially workers with modest or scarce resources, students and unemployed are discussed.

An enumeration follows of the tasks to be performed in order to guarantee that the rights of the cyclists are going to be respected. Also a list of socio-ecologic activities that will be carried out in coordination with the bicycle promotion program is presented. Finally the problem of resources is discussed, and 2 economic scenarios of bicycle assembly in small decentralized workshops are analized.