Revisiting assistance programs to get people biking: 26 programs
I have always been big on differentiation in analyzing places and programs, but lately I've become aware that I may not be as thorough as I could be.
I've written hundreds of blog entries about bicycling and how to promote it as a real form of transportation, focused on but not limited to DC, which is a perfect city for it.
A big point I make with bicycling is that given the automobile dependency that's been fostered on the US given the predominate land use and transportation development paradigm, is that people have to be assisted in making the shift from driving to mostly bicycling.
Building infrastructure isn't enough. Even great infrastructure can be empty much of the time. If anything, that's an indicator that people need help to make the change.
Granted for "biking most of the time" a lot of conditions have to be congruent including distance from origin to destination, topography, weather.
I have a piece, "Revisiting assistance programs to get people biking: 18 programs," and speaking of differentiation what I realize it that it should be organized in terms of mass/district/place based supports versus what we might call individualized and personal biking.
An example might be living in Capitol Hill, DC and riding around on various errands, trips to work, for recreation etc., within your neighborhood, versus living 4.5 miles direct to the University of Maryland, and riding there.
Similarly, Capitol Hill has dozens of bike sharing stations, while the route from Takoma Park to University of Maryland does not. In Manor Park, there are few bike sharing stations, so having your own bike makes the most sense.
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That entry updates "Revisiting assistance programs to get people biking: 18 programs," with the addition of more programs, which I have included below, marked by an asterisk, but without adding much in the way of additional text.
Critical Mass of Riders/Place/District
1. Creating "sustainable mobility stores." Relatedly providing support and subsidies to bicycle shops.
3. Cycling training
9. Bike sharing programs ought to be an obvious opportunity for promoting cycling take up.
10. Discounted bike sharing memberships on a means-tested basis.
12. Campus specific bike share programs.
19.** Open Streets Programs/Community Cycling Promotion programs at the neighborhood and community scale, including promotion of biking through affinity groups. I've written about both a lot but somehow neglected to include this item in this entry.
Neighborhood and district rides at one scale, whole community rides at the others. I am always amazed to see photos of such events and say "where did all the bikes come from?"
20.** Electric bike discount programs. This has the advantage of "expanding" the distance and radius of the area in which someone is willing to bike. Plus may shift people in significant ways from cars.
21.** Free bicycle share trips to extend transit trips to reaching your final destination. Columbia SC (bus) transit does this, as does Bogota.
23.** Bike bus programs. Most used in conjunction with "bike to school programs" ("I Started a Bike Bus, and You Can Too," Wired, 8 routes for the Montclair Bike Bus in New Jersey, "A cool way to get kids to school -- the bike bus" Boston Globe, ""‘It’s a bit of freedom’: traffic-stopping tech helps Glasgow school’s bike bus on its way"," Guardian).
Bike bus in Brooklyn. Video at Reddit.
25.** Expansion and Improvement of Trails. Until I rode a trail for some distance after 20 years of mostly being a street rider, I didn't realize how much mental energy is spent while street riding on safety measures and defensive cycling. Separation from cars encourages more people to bike. And it lets you "loosen" the mental load.
26.** Bike (sustainable mobility) Festivals. I've written about college bike weeks and the Bike Rodeo that used to be sponsored by Utah Transit Authority. Sometimes an Open Streets program includes many of these features. Obviously it's a way to get people consider sustainable mobility.
More recently, Washington Area Bicyclists Association has sponsored such events for seniors specifically ("Older adult transportation block party").
Individually-focused
1. Creating "sustainable mobility stores". Relatedly providing support and subsidies to bicycle shops.
2. Cycle Borrowing programs.
3. Cycling training
4. Bike safety training for children AND YOUTH.
5. Integrating cycling promotion programs into public recreation centers.
6. Other demographic focused cycling initiatives.
7. Senior cycling promotion programs.
8. Bikes as tools for improving access to jobs.
11. Cycle access programs on college campuses and by large employers.
13. Employer and college-assisted buying programs.
14. Credit union loans to buy bikes.
15. Bike donations for children.
16. Bike bundling programs in public housing.
17. Donating abandoned and unclaimed bikes to programs serving low income populations.
18. Short term on-site bicycle provision.
19.** Open Streets Programs/Community Cycling Promotion programs at the neighborhood and community scale, including promotion of biking through affinity groups. I've written about both a lot but somehow neglected to include this item in this entry.
Neighborhood and district rides at one scale, whole community rides at the others. I am always amazed to see photos of such events and say "where did all the bikes come from?" This item is listed in this section more for affinity groups and community rides.
20.** Electric bike discount programs. This has the advantage of "expanding" the size of a district a person is willing to bike it. Plus may shift people in significant ways from cars.
22.** Secure bicycle parking systems at the city and metropolitan scale ("Another mention of the idea of creating a network of metropolitan scale secure bicycle parking facilities"). Again something I write about a lot that should be integrated into this list.
24.** Provision of secure bicycle parking, and lockers and showers in destination districts. Zoning requirements to build them in office buildings and campuses of a certain size.
25.** Expansion and Improvement of Trails. I didn't realize until I rode a trail as opposed to street riding, how much mental energy is spent while street riding on safety measures and defensive cycling. Separation from cars encourages more people to bike.
26.** Bike (sustainable mobility) Festivals. I've written about college bike weeks and the Bike Rodeo that used to be sponsored by Utah Transit Authority. Sometimes an Open Streets program includes many of these features. Obviously it's a way to get people consider sustainable mobility.
More recently, Washington Area Bicyclists Association has sponsored such events for seniors specifically ("Older adult transportation block party").
Labels: bicycle and pedestrian planning, car culture and automobility, change-innovation-transformation, low income households, social marketing, sustainable transportation, transportation planning
posted by Richard Layman @ 4:12 PM&Permanent Link
11 Comments:
Unstructured spaces. Some nice citations.
https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2024/07/play-streets-children-adults/679258/
What Adults Lost When Kids Stopped Playing in the Street
In many ways, a world built for cars has made life so much harder for grown-ups.
In the U.K., Rose, Ferguson, and their friend Ingrid Skeels expanded their experiment in 2011 by founding Playing Out, an organization that has helped residents on more than 1,000 streets in dozens of cities across the country set up their own play sessions. These typically last for two hours and occur weekly, biweekly, or monthly. And yes, as with any other sort of play these days, the process takes work: Residents who’d like to set up a play street must get buy-in from neighbors, agree on dates, book road closures well in advance, and recruit stewards to stand guard at either end of the block. Organizers are also working against the headwinds of a society unaccustomed to children playing in the street. Even when blocks are officially closed to traffic, stewards often have to address drivers frustrated that they can’t get through. Some residents ask why the kids can’t just go to the park, and they worry about the noise or what will happen to their cars. When Jo Chesterman, a Bristol-based mother of two, first broached the idea of a play session on her street several years ago, some neighbors, she told me, seemed to worry “it was maybe going to be like Lord of the Flies.”
https://playingout.net/
https://momentummag.com/paris-bicycle-lessons-for-global-cities/
The Paris Olympic Bicycle Revolution: Lessons for Los Angeles and other Global Cities
1. Expanded Cycling Infrastructure
2. Pedestrian Streets
3. Vélib’ Expansion (bike sharing)
4. Financial Incentives
5. Integration with Public Transport
Making Tough Choices and Navigating Political Will
1. Commit to Long-Term Vision
2. Prioritize Equity in Decision-Making
3. Build broad coalitions
4. Measure and Celebrate Success
Denver bike experiment: In 2020, Denver voters approved a Climate Protection Fund to support programs that reduce carbon emissions. This year, the city used it to test ways to boost biking, working with community groups to try different strategies. The most effective was a one-dollar-per-mile incentive for replacing car trips with bike trips, and many riders kept biking even after the program ended. (Kyle Harris | Denverite)
https://denverite.com/2025/02/05/denver-paid-to-bike-experiment/
Last year, the city of Denver tried a new way to get people on bikes: pay them. The city spent $442,000 on experimental bike incentives, trying several different models to lure people onto two wheels.
Now, the first results are in. Community groups found that people biked more — and kept biking instead of driving after the program was over.
“The bottom line is, yes, financial incentives can help people switch their daily habits, from driving for a standard trip to biking,” said Jill Locantore, the head of the Denver Streets Partnership.
The group offered three types of incentives over a three-month period. One group was paid $1 per mile, up to 200 miles, tracked on an app.
Another was provided subsidies to buy a bike or bike accessories, plus training and coaching. A third group received both $1 per mile and training.
Montgomery County to offer low-cost adult biking, e-scooter classes
https://www.dcnewsnow.com/news/local-news/maryland/montgomery-county/montgomery-county-to-offer-low-cost-adult-biking-e-scooter-classes/?emci=44f9aa60-c97d-f011-b481-6045bda9d23e&emdi=65e4c7de-cb7d-f011-b481-6045bda9d23e&ceid=30995409
Adults can hop on to some low-cost adult bike and e-scooter classes in Montgomery County this fall.
The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) announced that these classes will take place in September, October and November. They are $10 for Montgomery County residents and free to any members of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) or Capital Bikeshare For All.
These classes are available to residents who are at 18 years old and are limited to 25 people.
There are two different types of classes — Learn to Ride classes and Basic Skills classes. Learn to Ride classes will focus on starting and stopping, balancing, gliding, pedaling and steering a bike. Organizers said that students can progress at their own pace. The Basic Skills classes, which are led by “experienced WABA instructors,” are for students who already know how to ride a bicycle and will work on practicing those skills.
The Learn to Ride classes will provide free bicycles and helmets, while you can rent them from WABA for the Basic Skills classes.
The e-scooter classes will happen immediately after the bike classes on Sept. 7 and Nov. 2. These classes are offered on a drop-in basis and do not require registration — just provide a valid driver’s license or ID if you are 18 or older. These classes provide e-scooters and helmets.
Changes in bicycling frequency in children and adults after bicycle skills training: A scoping review
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965856417314581
https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/2025-philly-bike-ride-is-back-20251014.html
Everything you need to know about the 2025 Philly Bike Ride
The Philly Bike Ride returns for another car-free tour of the city, featuring live entertainment, photo ops, on-street activations, and a celebratory finish for riders, families, and spectators.
“It’s all about fun and bringing the community out to enjoy the streets of Philadelphia,” said Danielle Ruiz, director of partnerships and communications for the event. “It’s not often that the streets are closed downtown and along Kelly Drive, so it’s a unique way to see the city.”
On Saturday, Oct. 18, about 6,000 cyclists will take part in the fourth annual Philly Bike Ride, a 20-mile event that highlights the need for better biking infrastructure and promotes safety for riders of all levels.
“There’s a huge cycling advocacy community in Philadelphia, but I think our ride really brings folks out who aren’t necessarily a part of that community,” Ruiz said. “It also showcases why cycling is so important and how fun it really can be.”
https://phillybikeride.com/
https://phillybikeride.com/community-impact/#giving
Logan Elementary made history by becoming the first in the district to incorporate bicycling into their physical education curriculum. We celebrated 170 2nd-5th grade students who completed a full year of training, mastering bike safety, control, and street smarts. This program was piloted with the help of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and Independence Blue Cross (IBX). Each student received a brand-new bike, helmet, and lock, empowering them with transportation freedom and healthy habits. And, to make their new bikes even more exciting, we provided Ride Passes to all recipients, their families, and teachers, inviting them to join us at the Philly Bike Ride and take their new wheels for a spin!
The Better Bike Share Partnership dedicated to building partnerships to promote bike sharing in low-income neighborhoods
Velolingo, engaging immigrant and refugee individuals by providing bicycle and safety education in the region’s critical languages: Spanish, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Russian and Haitian Creole, as well as expanding our bicycle education classes and rides offered in Spanish.
https://www.ilovethebronx.com/tour-de-bronx
It's free.
Cargo bike insurance
https://velosurance.com/cargo-bike-insurance/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311569252_New_walking_and_cycling_infrastructure_and_modal_shift_in_the_UK_A_quasi-experimental_panel_study
https://www.abc4.com/news/good4utah/organization-fixes-bikes-donates-them-to-kids-for-free
Organization fixes bikes, donates them to kids for free
Free Bikes 4 Kidz Utah works with their partners to find the families and children who need a bike. They all gather at the workshop for a Christmas surprise. It’s a pretty incredible day. Nick said, “Each child gets a helmet, gets fitted, gets the bike, ride the parking lot, crash; it’s awesome.”
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