This month, we caught up with Irene McAleese, Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at See.Sense. She shares her thoughts on the future and challenges of the cycling industry.
Can you tell me more about See.Sense and your role?
See.Sense is a cycling technology and data company based in Northern Ireland, UK, and we now have an office in Australia as well. We focus on making cycling safer and smarter through innovative technology and data solutions.
We started as an intelligent bike light company in 2013, and since then, we've expanded to offer advanced tracking systems, becoming a driving force behind cycling safety and infrastructure improvement. For example, our bicycle lights and GPS send data into the cloud and analyse data such as swerving and braking patterns, insights into road surface conditions, the performance of bikeshare fleets, and CO2 savings per bike.
We’re experts in handling the collected data and make it available at the city level for understanding safety and infrastructure use, and at the brand level for understanding customer behavior, riding patterns, predictive maintenance, and more. Our goal is to gather data that improves rider safety, enhances cycling infrastructure, and provides valuable insights for urban planning.
We work with cities around the world, including London, Dublin, Melbourne, and even have our first US project in Denver, to improve conditions for cycling. I’m also excited to be CIE’s Member of the Month because we’re currently looking to offer our technology and data as an OEM solution for other bike brands and bikeshare operators, allowing them to integrate our systems to better understand and improve the rider experience.
What cycling trends are you most excited to see by the year 2030?
The rise of e-bikes is a trend that will only continue to grow. I'm particularly excited to see cities promoting e-bikes through subsidies, which will make them more accessible to a wider range of people. We see large opportunities for us to get involved as well. Rather than only subsidizing the bike, maybe they should subsidize a tracker too, so they can start gathering valuable data about how people ride.
Another trend is the increasing use of data-driven urban planning. Cities are starting to rely more on data analytics to design and optimize cycling infrastructure based on real-world usage patterns.
Additionally, the emergence of subscription-based cycling services is making cycling more attractive to people who may not want the hassle of bike maintenance or worry about theft, making it more appealing to a broad range of people.
Another exciting trend we're observing too, particularly in the UK, is the growing recognition of the link between health and transport. When we first started working with cities, the budgets for health and transport were often kept separate. However, there’s now increasing awareness of how these areas intersect. For instance, recent research indicates that increased cycling could potentially save the NHS billions of pounds each year. This has led to the realization that funding for cycling infrastructure projects doesn’t have to come solely from transport budgets, they can also be health-focused. There's a lot of innovative work happening around behavior change and health, which is really promising.
The European Cycling Declaration is also an exciting initiative. It highlights cycling’s growing integration into urban transport and its potential to become even more central. Support from government initiatives and policies will be crucial in promoting more active travel, especially in cities.
Looking towards 2050, I believe these trends will become more sophisticated, with data playing an even larger role in urban planning and cycling infrastructure. On top of that, bikes have been around for 200 years, and I believe they will only grow in importance.
What do you see as a major challenge in the cycling industry, and how can Cycling Industries Europe (CIE) play a role in overcoming that challenge?
One major challenge is safety. The perception of safety is often a significant barrier to getting more people on bikes. At See.Sense, we address this by improving individual cyclist safety through intelligent bike lights and using data to help cities enhance their infrastructure. Whether through building dedicated bike lanes or by designing cities to be more cyclist-friendly, involving measures like lowering car speeds or widening roads to create less stressful cycling conditions.
Cycling Industries Europe (CIE) can play a crucial role by lobbying for city investments in safer cycling infrastructure and facilitating collaborations within the industry to drive innovation. CIE can also support pilot programs like MegaBITS by helping to set the vision, establish data standards, and ensure interoperability so that different industry players can share insights that can be more easily leveraged by cities. I think CIE plays a great role in facilitating collaboration, policy, and advocacy work.
What or who in the cycling industry inspires you and why?
There are so many inspiring people in the cycling industry, but I particularly admire Kevin Mayne from CIE. I first met Kevin years ago at VeloCity in Taipei, and I was impressed by his vision for integrating data into cycling, similar to how other transport modes, like cars, have done it. He has really lobbied for a lot of work in that area.
He's also been incredibly supportive of SMEs like ours, encouraging innovation and providing valuable insights. It’s so important to have support and recognition from someone with experience in the industry who tells you that you’re on the right track. His support has been instrumental in helping us navigate the industry. I'd also mention journalists like Carlton Reid in the UK and Phil Latz in Australia, who have a deep understanding of the industry and contribute significantly to its growth, as well as Jill Warren, the CEO of ECF.
How did you get yourself into the cycling industry?
It happened by chance. My husband, who is the inventor of the technology at See.Sense, was a cycle commuter looking to improve his safety on the road. He invented the sensors that go into our bike lights, and we both thought it was a great idea. We decided to leave our corporate careers to start See.Sense, which was a big leap, but we believed in the potential impact we could make.
Can you describe in around five words how cycling is saving the world?
Healthy, joyful, efficient, freedom, community-building, and transport. Cycling improves individual health, reduces pollution, and is often the most efficient way to travel in cities. It brings a sense of joy and freedom and fosters a strong sense of community among cyclists. You’re more likely to chat on the road or give a cyclist a nod for example.
Lastly, it’s an integral part of the transport ecosystem in cities. For so long, cities have been planned around cars, but there is growing recognition that cycling makes a valuable contribution. I would like to celebrate cycling as a mode of transport!