Re-CycleThe exploration of service design innovation for abandoned and unwanted bicycles.

Lishuai Dong Fang Xia MDes Service Design Innovation

London College of Communication

6100003.7 28 million %

Bikes are sold in UK 2013

Increase in volumes of cycle sales in UK 2013

Total number of cycling journeys in London in 2014

913 million

Programme of Mayor of London to invest on cycling infrastructure

Background

Source: Annual Cycling Monitoring Report, Active People Survey, TfL report 2015

27,000Abandoned bikes in London each year

Source:Jem Stein, The Bike Project

Background

• Occupy public spaces • Encourage fly-tipping, affect health and aesthetics of environment • Resources are wasted

Problems

Public spaces

Background

Fly-tipping Waste

How service design can help make good use of the resources of unwanted and abandoned bicycles ?

waste resource ?

Question

ResearchVisual Mapping

• One day fieldwork looking for the abandoned bikes.

• Keep updating new abandoned bikes found everyday in July

• Map out the issues of abandoned bikes

150+ Abandoned bikes

Only on the roads and streets that we mostly visited everyday in central London, we had found

Research

Visual Mapping

Marylebone Station 20+

King’s cross 15+

Soho 10+ Clerkenwell

Road 20+

Old Street 10+

London Bridge Station 20+

Elephant and Castle Kennington 10+

Research

Testing existing servicesReport abandoned bikes online However only 1 positive response

SouthwarkIslingtonCamden HackneyCamden

No response “404” Website crush Got response

Contextual Interview

Interview different stakeholders

• Council: Southwark council cleaning team

• Bicycle stores: Full City Bricks Lane Bike Tokyo Bike Isambard’s Cycles

• Property Management: King’s cross management team

• Charity and NGO: The Bike Project Bicycle kitchen Nip Nip Bike

• Cyclists

Research

Persona 1

About The Bike Project:

• Donate refurbished bicycles to refugees • Sell second hand refurbished bikes to fund the

charity project • Have several resources to get unwanted bikes • Lack of bike donations • No access to abandoned bikes • Need to raise their profile in the bike community

“I need better access to abandoned bikes ”

• 29 years old • British • Lives in South London • Operation manager of

The Bike Project • Single • Cyclist

Demographic Personality

• Friendly • Talkative • Practical • Organised • Happy to help

Claire

Persona 2 Alex

• A bike savvy • Has 3 special bicycles - One vintage bike, two

fixed gear • Can fix and build up bikes himself • Connection with many East London bike store

managers • Close relationship with other keen cyclists • Sells or exchanges parts of bikes with others • Not aware of The Bike Project • Not aware of abandoned bike issues

“ I haven’t really thought about abandoned bikes but now I would be interested to be involved. ”

• 30 years old • British • Lives in East London • Self-employed • Works in the wine and

food industry • Married

Demographic

Background

Personality

• Friendly • Funny • Creative • Easy going • Open mind • Extrovert

Re-framing the questions:

• How can we design a service that helps a charity like Claire’s Bike Project to increase her network of bike donors? 

• What touchpoints could support the local councils in reducing the amount of abandoned bikes and encouraging donation instead. 

• How can we capture the audience of cyclists such as Alex and encourage them to support charities like the Bike Project 

• How could we win people like Alex to become Bike project champions and what incentives could this entail  

Thank YouLishuai Dong Fang Xia MDes Service Design Innovation

London College of Communication