Sign in to view
member only content

Springwise receives tons of ideas a month, from the super serious to the very frilly. Of course we always have a few personal favorites, and this month, Rio de Janeiro’s Bus Bike tops our list. What must be the word’s first mobile and moving gym, the Bus Bike is a totally modified bus offering indoor bike classes. ‘Passengers’ pay a monthly fee of BRL 145 (USD 64 / EUR 54 / GBP 36) for two classes a week, and BRL 190 (USD 84 / EUR 70 / GBP 47) for three classes a week. On board are an instructor, overseeing 16 bikes, as well as a dressing room, a fridge, and a sound system. The bus is connected to a GPS system to avoid getting caught in traffic jams. The bus uses fixed stops on three different 45-minute itineraries: one departs from Barra (at 6h, 7h, 8h and 9h), one from Leme (at 12h, 13h, 14h and 15h) and one from Lagoa (at 18h, 19h, 20h and 21h), operating from Monday to Friday. On Saturdays the bus can be rented for special events. Just launched in Rio de Janeiro, Bus Bike expects to roll out service in other major Brazilian cities soon.

Opportunities

The Bus Bike turns a dreaded but necessary activity into great fun: going to the gym and cycling off those extra pounds now IS the ride. The unique selling point? How about the ever changing view of Rio’s beauty, buzz and diversity while working out? Sure beats those TV screens in sterile gyms! We have a hard time coming up with world cities where this concept would not work. And how about an eco version — a bus powered by human energy instead of fossil fuel? 😉 For existing gyms: just the PR value of doing something like this would be priceless; it’s hard to imagine CNN, BBC, AlJazeera or CCTV not wanting to follow you around. Bus Bike offers a wise lesson as well: there is ALWAYS something new on the horizon, you have no excuse to run (or cycle) from global creative destruction. Spotted by: Paula Rizzo