EASST launches new partnership with FIA and Uzum delivery company in Uzbekistan

EASST has entered a new partnership with the National Federation of Autosport and Karting of Uzbekistan (NAFKU) and Uzum delivery company to provide road safety training to bike couriers in Uzbekistan.

With the support of the FIA Road Safety Grants Programme, the project follows a pilot initiative implemented last year in Samarkand at the FIA’s Extraordinary General Meeting. It will include training for Uzum couriers across three cities – Tashkent, Smarkand, and Bukhara. Couriers will receive road safety training, first-aid training and will also a get free bicycle helmet each.

Cycling is increasing in Uzbekistan’s cities both as a means of everyday transport and for business. Like many places across the world, food and grocery delivery companies are increasingly using bike couriers to by-pass traffic congestion and deliver quick and efficient services.

To ensure cyclists are safe on the roads, low speeds and segregated bike lanes are essential. EASST and NAFKU have been calling for these necessary changes in street design as part of a project funded by the FIA Road Safety Grants Programme to promote walking and cycling as viable means of everyday travel in Uzbekistan. In 2021, authorities committed to building 600km bike lanes in the country’s capital, Tashkent.

Our new partnership with Uzum aims to complement this work by giving couriers the skills and strategies to navigate city streets safely.