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Title: Bike-Share Programs Extend into Underserved Neighborhoods
Source:
TriplePundit
URL Source: http://www.triplepundit.com/2015/05 ... quity-underserved-communities/
Published: May 7, 2015
Author: Sherrell Dorsey
Post Date: 2015-05-13 21:36:29 by Dakmar
Keywords: None
Views: 144
Comments: 13
Chicago, New York, Boston and D.C. are just a few of more than 50 U.S. municipalities boasting bike-share programs that help citizens and tourists ride around town. These rent-a-bike models encourage planet-friendly travel, increased utilization of existing public transit options and neighborhood exploration, all the while generating additional revenue for cities. When it comes to ensuring that the benefits of bike-share programs extend to populations that would otherwise be underserved or priced out of the opportunity, the PeopleForBikes Foundation is strategically aligning its advocacy work with communities and governments to guide both how and where these programs extend into neighborhoods in where they are needed most. Recently, PeopleForBikes worked with the city of Philadelphia through the Better Bike Share Partnership to launch the city’s first bike-share program, Indego. Through the partnership, the City of Brotherly Love was administered funds to implement 20 dock stations in underserved communities. PeopleforBikes plans to carry out similar projects by administering $900,000 in grant funding over three years to bike share operators, cities and local nonprofits to help U.S. cities implement strategies to increase bike-share use in underserved communities. “The benefits of a bike-share program are numerous,” said Martha Roskowski, PeopleForBikes vice president of local innovation. “It can inexpensively bridge the ‘last mile gap’ between a commuter’s public transit and their final destination. It also provides visitors an exciting new way to explore a city, gets people who might not otherwise ride onto [a] bicycle and is environmentally friendly. Now our work is to make sure the benefits of bike sharing are available to everyone in the city.” Disproportionately, some of the most recognized bike-share programs in the country have been met with controversy for lack of equitable distribution in core neighborhoods characterized by less affluence. In predominately lower-income black and Latino communities, transportation expenditures or lack of access could spell a variety of challenges, including: impact of inadequate transportation options that prevent people from getting to work on time or being able to get to a job interview a considerable distance away; unreliable transportation that increases school tardiness; and inaccessible bus or train routes that prevent effective access to healthy grocery stores. In other words: Communities with statistically recognized transportation issues benefit the most from having a bike-share option in their neighborhood. This issue is examined in a recently released bike equity report by PeopleForBikes and the Alliance for Biking & Walking. The research conducted revealed several key insights: According to The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, access to affordable and reliable transportation widens opportunity and is essential to addressing poverty, unemployment, and other equal opportunity goals such as access to good schools and health care services. “In the past 10 years bike sharing has gone from a kooky idea to a new reality to an essential part of the transportation network in many cities,” Kate Fillin-Yeh, the bike-share program director at the National Association of City Transportation Officials, said in a press release. “As cities look to balance their transportation priorities and budgets, there has been an increasing demand for information on how to get the most out of bike share systems and how to make bike share benefit the most people.” Innovation is a standing value that many cities have continued to examine as they iterate on the quality and equity of their bike-share programs. Increasing opportunity for all citizens is a next step in configuring models that benefit diverse communities. For instance, CitiBike in New York City, which launched in 2013, recently extended their program to include bike stations that will serve public housing communities. A discount annual membership rate of $60 per year is available for lower-income residents, compared to the standard annual rate of $149. Last spring, Boston’s Hubway program partnered with Boston Medical Center to offer lower-income riders at risk for obesity-related health issues a $5 membership with a doctor’s prescription. Certainly, one can argue that increasing access to bike-share programs and pushing planners to increase protected bike lanes to encourage bicycling as a transportation option are viable solutions in removing barriers for lower-income residents to have access to adequate transportation options. However, analyzing the data and metrics of usage in these neighborhoods over a period of time will be key to understanding how, why and when individuals ride and use the systems provided. Subsequently, this data collection can serve as a basis for deeper insight on how to produce rider curriculum, encourage safe riding behaviors, and assess how these programs are increasing quality of life and revitalization in communities in which programming seeks to be of service. Poster Comment: Biking and transportation disproportionality That would even be funny as satire.Biking and transportation disproportionality
Models of equity across cities
Silver bullet vs. one side of the equation
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#1. To: All (#0)
Where do they come up with this nonsense? corruptissima re publica plurimae leges - Tacitus
It's better for their retirement than writing
Human beings have a natural instinct to belong to a group. Tell them you love them and get them to kill and win a new Buick!
corruptissima re publica plurimae leges - Tacitus
Bikes Fo' De' People has been tried before, it invariably results in a total loss and backpeddling in numerous editorials about how "we didn't throw ENOUGH money at the problem the first time around...".
The lowest-income households bike the most
The lower the income, the less you drive
Hispanic people bike for recreation the most
People of color bike for transportation most
People of color care more about protected bike lanes
#2. To: Dakmar (#1)
Where do they come up with this nonsense?
#3. To: NeoconsNailed (#2)
#4. To: Dakmar (#0)
-Alex Kurtagic
#5. To: X-15 (#4)
Maybe they just need nicer bikes. :)
corruptissima re publica plurimae leges - Tacitus
#6. To: Dakmar (#0)
Traditionally, a program whereby unsuspecting White People on the periphery of 'underserved neighborhoods' generously donate their own children's bicycles in the form of Midnight Porch Terminals. Nevermind the crying of the White children who weren't told of their involuntary 'participation' in the programs, Shitavius got places to be.......'n sheeit!!!!! bike-share programs
-Alex Kurtagic
#7. To: X-15 (#6)
But, umm, bike desert. Yeah! Disparate impact!
corruptissima re publica plurimae leges - Tacitus
#8. To: Dakmar (#7)
-Alex Kurtagic
#9. To: X-15 (#6)
Bicyclists 14 and under killed in 2013: 48(13% of total). Injured: 66,017 (23%) Bicyclist deaths represented 2.3% of all 2013 traffic fatalities. (2.1% in 2011) Average age of a bicyclist killed on US roads: 44 (36 in 2002) Average age of a bicyclist injured on US roads: 32 (28 in 2002) Males killed 87%. Males injured 83%. Nearly one fifth (23%) of the cyclists killed were drunk. (Blood alcohol over .08 g/dl) Fatal crashes typically were urban (68%) and not at intersections (66%). Traffic Safety Facts - 2013 Data
corruptissima re publica plurimae leges - Tacitus
#10. To: Dakmar (#9)
I suspect that only fatal crashes (you know, where the cops actually CATCH THE HOOD-RAT AT THE SCENE WITH THE BICYCLE) would reflect a more, shall we say, 'diverse' sampling. Statistically speaking.
-Alex Kurtagic
#11. To: X-15 (#10)
I see the same thing around here with stolen cars. A straight stretch of road, 3/4 of a mile, yet the ooks have managed to take out three trees and part of my fence just in just this eight to ten house area. So the liberals want to ban talking on a sail foam while driving...Lord help me Jesus. Fatal crashes typically were urban (68%) and not at intersections (66%).
corruptissima re publica plurimae leges - Tacitus
#12. To: AX-15, NeoconsNailed (#9)
Females 4% more likely to be left unattended at scene to die? Wow, this war on women thing is real! Males killed 87%. Males injured 83%.
corruptissima re publica plurimae leges - Tacitus
#13. To: X-15 (#12)
doh
corruptissima re publica plurimae leges - Tacitus
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