Gloria Leroy co-chairs the “Boites à vélo” of Grenoble. After the pandemic and the slowdown in the economy, she notes that things are picking up again very strongly for those who were at the start looked at as “creepy”. Why did these small businesses (there are several associations like this in France) take root and what are their prospects today?
France Bleu Isère: The bicycle boxes in Grenoble are already a story that has a little bit of time behind it and above all lots of projects to come, you can give us a little photo of today. Is the concept already well known and accepted?
Gloria Leroy: We opened in quotes in 2015 and it’s true that despite the health crisis, we have still evolved a lot. We are therefore an association that brings together entrepreneurs who only work by bicycle. We were 5 at the start. We are a good big dozen today. We welcome at least three or four companies a year.
And do you think it will continue?
Absolutely. We were often told it was going to be a fad, after all. Today, last-mile logistics issues, mobility issues, pollution and pollution reduction issues are really something that is on everyone’s mind. And it’s something that is taken seriously and which is really developing a lot, in particular thanks to all the infrastructure improvements that have been made. And then, because there are still some financial incentives when you switch to low-carbon means of mobility.
It almost seems to be on the scale of a metropolis like Grenoble, that 12 members is almost not a lot, after all? Are there other entrepreneurs who also cycle? Who may not necessarily be with you?
Ah yes, they are not necessarily members. On the other hand, the whole ecosystem, the network, we know it pretty well. There are also structures that are outside the company, associations, unemployed people. We all work anyway. We know each other, we work hand in hand, we also talk to each other. There is a lot of sharing, a lot of exchanges, a lot of words. We have a small Telegram channel, in particular to give each other ideas and information on roads that would be blocked.
A few examples, perhaps of the most recent companies that have joined you?
Well, I’m going to talk about the youngest that we welcomed and who benefited from the cyclo-entreprise training, which is training that is delivered by bike boxes all over France. And there, we welcome Champi-Loop, young people who grow mushrooms. As much as possible in a short circuit, namely that it is the substrates on which they grow up to the waste of these substrates which will become compost in the agglomeration and which will now deliver individuals and professionals by bike with a trailer!
Initially, it was an urban agriculture project. The bike dimension can be completely incidental, right? They integrated it and you helped them integrate it?
Yes, to find the right material, to understand the economy around it, also the issues, the rules and the legal issues. Since it’s true that we practice jobs that often exist, but in a particular way. So, there are small specifics. Indeed, when you are a producer, your merchandise will have to move. So, integrate from the start that all this mobility, whether of goods, of people, that they can be carried out by bicycle. That’s what today is, being on the right path. And that is exactly what is subject to all the inducements one can have.
France Bleu is by your side during this health and economic crisis. Every day at 7:15 a.m. in “The new eco”, your radio is interested in a company or a sector of activity. How is he doing? How does he project himself into the future?