Radbonus has reinvented cycling

Radbonus is a free app that motivates you to pedal more often instead of using your car or public transportation. Simply hop on your bike, collect cycling kilometers, and receive bonuses. This brings several benefits: clean air in our cities, great deals, and toned thighs. To learn more, I had a nice chat with founder Nora Grazzini.

You launched Radbonus in 2015. How many people have you motivated to get on the saddle since then?

We are proud to have now reached the 12,000 cyclist mark.

Is your free app more commonly used by cyclists in rural areas or by city cyclists?

We can't yet say for sure why, but most bike bonus users are located in urban areas. We suspect that people in more rural areas are more likely to rely on a car due to the significantly greater distances.

How many kilometers have you cycled with the app since you launched?

In total, we've recorded over 3 million cycling kilometers so far, which also means that over 3 million car kilometers have been avoided thanks to the bike bonus. This not only protects the environment, but also your wallet. A study in Sweden has shown that every kilometer traveled by car costs society 15 cents. Every kilometer traveled by bike, on the other hand, generates 16 cents! That's enormous economic added value. And, incidentally, you're doing something good for your health.

Do you notice strong fluctuations depending on the season?

Yes, absolutely. But there are numerous "power cyclists" who ride year-round and passionately advocate for cycling.

Can I also collect cycling kilometers with an e-bike?

That's perfectly fine with us. The idea behind the bike bonus is to reduce the burden on the environment and traffic. To avoid making implementation unnecessarily complicated, we don't measure elevation gain or power levels against each other. Every kilometer cycled counts.

What are your next goals?

We're currently expanding our app with various features to encourage even more people to cycle. We're also constantly seeking new, interesting partners and are looking to collaborate with health insurers and employers.

How do you see the future in which Radbonus has had an impact?

Of course, lots of people ride bikes! We want to raise awareness of the enormous economic added value that cycling brings and make this measurable. 75% of all journeys are less than 8 kilometers long , and in cities, most of the journey is spent at traffic lights or in traffic jams. Time is money, and the time lost could be used much more effectively. In the future, we at Radbonus want to implement many more measures to encourage people to switch to cycling and thus contribute to people's health. We also want to improve the quality of life in our cities by reducing traffic noise. It has also been proven that local businesses in areas with lots of cyclists achieve higher sales because they no longer have to spend time searching for parking spaces.

What is your opinion on bicycle infrastructure in Germany?

Of course, things are always getting better, and it's annoying when bike paths end abruptly, but generally speaking, you can get anywhere. There are also many great apps with suggested bike routes. The trend is definitely moving toward cycling, and it's being supported throughout Germany.

Do all members of the Radbonus team cycle to work?

(Laughs) Definitely when the weather is nice! The Radbonus team around founder Nora Grazzini




Let's get to the last question: We at the city gardeners are considering poaching your feel-good manager, "Lupita." Is there a chance?

(Laughs again) Absolutely not! The entire Radbonus team would be up in arms! Since Lupita has now also been trained to draw the winners, we can unfortunately no longer release this resource.

Thank you, Nora, for this charming interview. And to all the stressed-out, honking-car-driving urban gardeners out there: download Radbonus ( iPhone , Android ), hop on your bike, and join us in making the world a little greener!