Bikes with names of their own: the Canvas by Greystar detail and how to bring it to your residence

Direct answer: at Canvas by Greystar, the electric bikes run by Cityflow carry “CANVAS Residencias de Estudiantes” on the wheel disc and each one has a name of its own: Greta, Yegor, Xisco, Haley, Roma… Your residence can do the same: your brand on every bike and, if you like, a name. Here's how to choose them, where to put the bikes and how to introduce them.

This article is only about that detail. The full case is in Canvas by Greystar, and the payment models are in the guide to electric bikes for student residences.

What exactly does Canvas do with its bikes?

It puts its brand on them and gives each one a name. Canvas is Greystar's student residence brand in Spain. The wheel disc on its bikes reads “CANVAS Residencias de Estudiantes” (“CANVAS Student Residences”), and every bike has its own name: Greta, Yegor, Xisco, Haley, Roma…

Canvas announced it on its Instagram, @canvas_studentes, with a video of the bikes and this text: “Moviéndonos al estilo Canvas. Estrenamos servicio gratis de bicicletas eléctricas en nuestras resis…” (In English: “Moving the Canvas way. We're launching a free e-bike service in our residences…”). The video is on the student residences page.

The bikes carry the Canvas brand, but the operation belongs to Cityflow: maintenance, charging, insurance, GPS and student support. The residence team doesn't touch a bike.

What's the point of giving a bike a brand and a name?

So that the bike speaks for your residence, inside and outside it. Three effects that make sense without needing any data:

• The brand goes out onto the street. Every bike parked at the faculty or crossing the city says where it comes from. The Canvas wheel disc shows the brand and also what it is: “Residencias de Estudiantes” (“Student Residences”).
• The name sticks. It's easier to talk about Greta than about “one of the bikes by the entrance”.
• It gives you something to talk about. A fleet with names is a good excuse to introduce it in the welcome and on social media.

What there isn't is figures. Cityflow has no data measuring how much usage changes when a bike is given a name, so it's best to treat it as what it is: a branding detail, not a promise of results.

How do you choose the names?

Short, easy to say in many languages and different from one another. The Canvas names are short and don't sound alike. A checklist to review yours:

1. Short. They can be read at a glance and remembered.
2. Easy to pronounce. Your students come from different countries: anyone should be able to say them.
3. Different from one another. No two should sound similar.
4. No double meanings. Before finalising the list, ask students or members of your team from other countries whether any of them means something odd in their language.
5. Not belonging to anyone well known. Avoid names of students or your team, of famous people and of brands.
6. With a theme, if you like. Nearby neighbourhoods or streets, corners of the city or names from different origins, like your students.

If you want students to take part, open the vote before the fleet arrives, because the names go on the bikes. In a residence that hasn't opened yet, choose the first list yourself and save the vote for when bikes are added.

Where do you put the bikes so they're seen?

Where your students and visitors walk past: the entrance or a courtyard, rather than a basement. A bike with your brand at the door shows itself off on every tour, and its name can be read in passing.

Cityflow bikes are built for shared use and to sleep outdoors, so you don't need a locked room. In the Canvas images on the student residences page, they're lined up in a row, with their brand on show, and on the residence's terrace.

A basement or a garage has another problem besides not being visible: the GPS may not place the bike when the rental ends. The practical guide on how to avoid surprise charges explains it.

How do you introduce them in the welcome?

By name, alongside the practical details: where they are, how much they cost and who to message if something goes wrong. An example you can adapt:

“[Your bikes' names], the residence's electric bikes, are waiting for you at the entrance. Take one whenever you need it and, when you're done, leave it in the same place. If something goes wrong, message Cityflow: they'll reply in your language.”

Add the price for your model: “They're free for you” if the residence includes them, or “€5 on each day you use one” if the student pays. And if you run a tour or a welcome session, walk past the bikes: let students see them and read their names.

What about social media?

Do what Canvas did: a short announcement when they arrive, with the bikes on show. A few ideas that don't need any data:

• A photo or a video of the row, with your brand and the names legible.
• Introducing the bikes one by one, by name, in the first weeks of term.
• Sharing what your students post with them when they tag you.

The text has to say the same as the welcome about the price. If your students pay €5 on the day they use one, don't advertise it as free.

How do you get started?

1. You tell Cityflow about your residence: city, number of beds and opening date if it's new.
2. You choose the model: the residence includes them and they're free for students, or the student pays €5 a day and it costs the residence nothing.
3. You prepare your logo, your colours and, if you like, the list of names.
4. The bikes arrive carrying your brand and their names. From then on, the operation is Cityflow's.

If you want bikes with your brand, and with names, at your residence, talk to sales.

Frequently asked questions

What do Canvas by Greystar's bikes carry?

“CANVAS Residencias de Estudiantes” (“CANVAS Student Residences”) on the wheel disc and a name of their own on each one: Greta, Yegor, Xisco, Haley, Roma… They're run by Cityflow.

Can I give the bikes at my residence names?

Yes. Cityflow bikes arrive in the residence's colours and logo and, if you like, with a name of their own on each one.

Does naming the bikes make people use them more?

Cityflow has no data that measures it. It's a branding detail that helps you introduce the bikes, not a result that can be promised.

How do I choose names for the bikes?

Short, easy to pronounce in many languages, different from one another and with no double meanings. Avoid names of students or your team, of famous people and of brands.

Where is it best to park the residence's bikes?

Where they can be seen, such as the entrance or a courtyard. In a basement or a garage they're barely visible and the GPS may not place the bike when the rental ends.