[sustran] city bikes/free bikes

[Todd Litman]

At 12:34 PM 4/20/98 -0700, Heath Maddox wrote:
>
>I am a cyclist and grad student in transportation planning at UC Berkeley.
>I  am currently researching community "free" bicycle programs.   Most
>information I have  come across has been anecdotal and not very in-depth  I
>have been in contact with a few individual sustrans people on this topic,
>but since it came up in general discussion anyway, I thought I'd put out a
>wider call  for help..  Is there any hard data or analysis of such programs
>out there anywhere?  If not, more anecdotal information, contact info. or
>internet links would also be helpful. Thank you very much,

Here is a website for Seattle's yellowbike program:
http://www.yellowbike.com. I haven't looked at it, so I don't know what
information it contains. I have not heard of any serious analysis of these
programs in terms of evaluating their transportation/social benefits.

Let me report on my personal experience. We had a program when I lived in
Olympia, Washington a few years ago, in which a team of volunteers fixed up
both children's and adult's bicycles which were donated to families that
could use them through the local refugee center. Recipients also recieved
helmets, safety instruction and help with repairs. All of the feedback we
heard was very positive; the bicycles were highly valued by recipents and
well cared for, and people involved in the program got lots of positive
appreciation. I consider this program to be extremely successful in terms
of both supporting alternative transportation and helping people.

Here in Victoria, BC we have a "blue bike" program, in which volunteers fix
up donated bicycles, paint them blue, and leave them around town for people
to use. 17 bikes have been fixed up so far. I occasionally see them used,
often rather dangerously, but almost as often I see them damaged and
abandoned, sometimes obviously destroyed as a lark (such as the one that
ended up in a tree). I suspect that the prople running this program spend
as much additional miles of driving tracking and repairing these bicycles
as the bicycles save in reduced automobile use.

As much as I support alternative bicycling as a form of transportation and
would like to see bicycles conveniently available, I don't think that a
free bike program is an effective way to do it. Resources that are given
away are often treated as having no value. I believe that the bikes are
much better given to individuals who would otherwise not be able to afford
a bicycle, along with the help they need to bicycle safely.

If that isn't enough, I think that donated bicycles could be fixed up and
rented for a nominal amount through some organization (college recreation
centers, homeless shelters, YMCAs, refugee centers, etc.) by the hour, day
or week, to allow people mobility, for example when visiting another
neighborhood or city. Although many bike shops rent bicycles, these tend to
be relatively expensive and the service is often not well advertised.

A final bit of advice. There are LOTS of old bicycles sitting in basements
and garages, and if you put out a call for donations you are almost
guaranteed to get more than you need. However, most of these donations are
junk, and you will almost certainly end up carting a lot to the dump. I
suggest being very specific and selective about what types of bicycles you
accept for donation, particularly if your sotrage space is limited.





Sincerely,

Todd Litman, Director
Victoria Transport Policy Institute
"Efficiency - Equity - Clarity"
1250 Rudlin Street
Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, Canada
Phone & Fax: 250-360-1560
E-mail:      litman at islandnet.com
Website:     www.islandnet.com/~litman