Charging Bikes Developed in the SASMob Project
The four-year programme with EU funding and promoting sustainable city mobility will finish at the end of the year, said Sándor Nagy, Vice Mayor for City Development in Szeged.
At the press conference where the charging bikes developed in the programme were presented, the politician stated that, according to survey results, forty percent of moving within Szeged is related to going to school or work.
The municipal government launched the SASMob project in alliance with the city’s 11 large employers, and won EUR 3 million (HUF 1.08 billion) in direct EU funding to support the work done. Since its launch, 16 new business and public organisations have joined the programme, the Vice Mayor added.
In the framework of the project, traffic and passenger monitoring sensors have been developed and installed in the city, on the vehicles and at the stops of community transport. In line with local needs, bike shelters have been built in the facilities of business and public organisations, ticket vending machines have been installed and bus stops have been constructed. Awareness raising was an important part of the project, and comprised of the promotion of community transport and cycling – emphasised Sándor Nagy.
Attila Mészáros, faculty engineer working at the Faculty of Engineering of Szeged University (SZTE), said that one of the awareness raising initiatives was the development of the charging bike. The vehicle, the result of the reconstruction of the traditional gym bike, can charge two phones, tablets or laptops at a time. A power generator has been connected to the bike, a charge regulator circuit to the generator, and the system has been set so that it can charge the interfaced devices in as short as half an hour. A wifi module has also been connected to the device, which enables the monitoring of the actual speed, the distance done and the electric energy generated on the smart device.
The two charging bikes were placed in József Attila Study and Information Centre of Szeged University (SZTE), where anyone can use them.
Source: MTI
Photos: MTI/ Tibor Rosta; Szeged.hu/ Aurél Iványi