The Southern Bike Collective is Growing

The Southern Cycling Collective is taking a new step with the creation of a regional association. Bringing together 24 structures, including four in the Alpes-Maritimes, this organization intends to speak with one voice on cycling mobility and support projects at the regional level.

The Southern Cycling Collective is expanding its scope. After several months of collaborative work, associations committed to everyday cycling in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur have officially created a regional association. The constituent general assembly was held on June 29, 2026. This step materializes momentum initiated since the beginning of 2025 and strengthened during a founding meeting organized in Aix-en-Provence in January 2026.

The new structure brings together 24 associations distributed across five departments of the region: the Alpes-Maritimes, Bouches-du-Rhône, Hautes-Alpes, Var and Vaucluse. More than 6,000 members are now represented within this network. In the Alpes-Maritimes, four associations are among the founding members: Choisir Le Vélo, CommunSavoir, Cyclotrope and Nice à Vélo.

The Collective remains open to all associations and regional collectives whose mission is to promote cycling as a means of transportation.

Faced with challenges of mobility, road safety, ecological transition and public health, the new association wishes to promote the development of cycling in everyday transportation. The members want to contribute to making cycling an alternative to the car and a complement to public transportation as well as other active modes of transportation.

The stated objective is to improve the entire cycling system. Actions will focus in particular on infrastructure, parking, intermodality, services, learning to ride, cycling culture and considering users in public policies.

Joint representation to support cycling projects in the region

The Southern Cycling Collective also wishes to become a regional interlocutor with institutions. This representation will complement the work already carried out locally by each association. The structure intends to raise user needs, share on-the-ground experiences and develop joint proposals on mobility policies.

Projects can also be carried out at the regional or departmental level with the associations involved. Initiatives will be based on knowledge of territories and user feedback in order to adapt actions to local realities, whether it be the coast, urban centers, rural areas, valleys or mountain sectors.

Beyond dialogue with institutions, the Collective will coordinate the regional network of associations. The objective is to promote the exchange of best practices, pooling of resources and sharing of expertise to strengthen actions carried out on the ground.

“The Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region has a rich, experienced and locally rooted cycling association network. By creating the Southern Cycling Collective, we want to better coordinate these energies, put forward joint proposals and make everyday cycling an essential subject of regional mobility policies,” declare Antonio Barros (Nice à Vélo).

The support of the French Federation of Bicycle Users (FUB) accompanied this regional structuring. The federation facilitated exchanges between associations, supported the organization of regional meetings and supported the creation of this new association.

In the Alpes-Maritimes, Antonio Barros, representative of Nice à Vélo, will serve as co-president, legal representative of the association and spokesperson for the Southern Cycling Collective.