Tera Bike Campaign for Positive Change

With this campaign, we join like-minded people who practice a healthy lifestyle and enjoy riding a bicycle, people who believe that Tbilisi, like other cities in the world, can become a bike-friendly place. We hope many people will join us in our initiative. - This message introduced terabank’s summer campaign promoting positive change on June 12

Within the framework of the initiative, both existing and new customers of terabank can make use of free bicycles throughout the city. Bike stops can be found in front of five terabank branches. In order to use a bicycle, you can get a Tera Bike card free of charge from one of the branches listed below.

In an interview with GEORGIA TODAY, Salome Kokosadze, Head of terabank’s Marketing and Public Relations Department, discussed the bank’s initiative and highlighted the success of the summer campaign.

Offering free bikes is quite an innovation and rare in the context of corporate social responsibility in Georgia. How was the idea born and what prompted you to initiate this campaign?

Summer was approaching and within our social responsibility scope, we wanted to offer a seasonal activity to involve everyone in something fun. We were looking for an idea that no one had thought of before and we wanted to make sure it benefited both the public and the city, giving grounds to a positive change for the future. The idea of free bicycles for our customers was born- our summer gift to them.

Tell us about the goals of the campaign

Our main objective is, of course, promoting a healthy lifestyle and promoting a cycling culture in the city. At the same time, we wanted to show that it is possible to use bikes, as a very healthy form of transport, despite the widely held belief that the riding a bicycle in Tbilisi is difficult. However, with the right attitude, persistence, and commitment, Tbilisi can become a city of bicycles.

How difficult was it to implement the campaign in a city where there is the lack of a proper bicycling infrastructure and where the bicycle is not a very popular form of transportation?

We knew we were facing negative views regarding the ability to cycle in the city comfortably, but with the help of professional bikers and special guides, convenient, short and safe routes were designed to help bike lovers move around the city comfortably. It showed that when there is an effective route, it can be easy to ride a bike in Tbilisi. Guidelines for the use of bikes and routes are handed out when people take an access card. The designed routes were an incentive for people who love to ride, but due to lack of infrastructure, would otherwise struggle to move around.

The campaign has been ongoing for more than a month. What are the results and how many customers did you attract?

Of course we really wanted the initiative to be beneficial for the whole city, and attract many people, actively involving them in the campaign and helping to spread the idea and goals. Tera Bike became very popular very quickly, and we got a lot of positive feedback on social media and in the bank's branches, and this attitude continues. The same can be said about the activity of biking lovers: at the start of the campaign, there were queues for Tera Bikes. According to the current data, up to 2000 cards have been issued, which means that there are many cycling enthusiasts in Tbilisi. It once again proves that by taking small steps and contributing to the development of the initiative, Tbilisi can indeed become a city of bicycles.

We hope that more people will start cycling in Tbilisi, which will gradually develop the necessary infrastructure. We will be more than happy if terabank can play a role in this direction.

Tera Bike cards are available at the following terabank branches:

• Avlabari – Ketevan Dedofali Avenue N3

• Vake Park Area – Ilia Chavchavadze Avenue N43

• Pekini Avenue N148

• Davit Aghmashenebeli Avenue N60

• Hotel ‘Biltmore’; Rustaveli Avenue N29

• Freedom Service Center; Freedom Square N4

And please remember to pay attention to the safety rules and the riding guidelines!

By ADVERTORIAL