April 2015 - TheThinkTank - lists.bikecollectives.org

Re: [TheThinkTank] FREE bikes to use in rural town
by Mark Rehder 09 Apr '15

09 Apr '15

A decade or so ago many places tried what were called "yellow bike" programs (or whatever colour). Basically, paint a bunch of basic low-end bikes in a single colour and put them out for folks to use. I think pretty well every program eventually failed due to theft and misuse. And wikipedia says this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_sharing_system) "In this type of programme the bicycles are simply released into a city or given area for use by anyone. In some cases, such as a university campus, the bicycles are only designated for use within certain boundaries. Users are expected to leave the bike unlocked in a public area once they reach their destination. Because the bike is not required to be returned to a centralised station, ready availability of such bicycles is rare, and since unlocked bikes may be taken by another user at any time, the original rider is forced to find alternative transport for the return trip. Bicycle sharing programs without locks, user identification, and security deposits have also historically suffered large loss rates from theft and vandalism." So I would suggest that while, as Matt wrote, it has the potential to get more folks interested in bikes, they may also end up despising them if your town starts filling up with the inevitable abandoned and broken bike carcasses. Mark Rehder - Coordinator re-Cycles Community Bike Shop http://re-cycles.ca On 2015-04-09, at 11:50 AM, Matt Brittenham-Jones wrote: > I don’t think it will hurt the bike business at all, it may even help it as more bike availability may get more people interested in having a bike of their own. > > That said there is a very real likelihood that the “free bikes” will fall into disrepair, and become litter more than transportation if there is not a very well organized system in place to maintain them. It’s a worthwhile goal, but it takes a lot of work to get it right, and it’s very easy to get it wrong. 2 attempts in my small town failed. THe first because the bikes did in deed fall into disrepair remarkably quickly, and no one took responsibility for their upkeep. THe second project (the one I was involved in) simply lacked the volunteer involvement (or money) that would have been needed to get it off the ground. > > Matt > > >> On Apr 9, 2015, at 11:38 AM, Beth Barnes <islow4bikes(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> >> Could you weigh in, please. We have a small, remote rural town with no real bike/Ped infrastructure...yet. A group wants to introduce about 100 used bikes for people to use for free in an already ailing, small downtown. Free bikes? What will that do to local, struggling bike businesses? Bikes but no supporting infrastructure? Thank you for your thoughts. Makes little sense to me. >> Beth >> ____________________________________ The ThinkTank mailing List <a href="http://lists.bikecollectives.org/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o…">Unsubscribe from this list</a>

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Update on the Archives
by Godwin ! 07 Apr '15

07 Apr '15

Just an update on what's going on with the archives. The archives are still down and there's no ETA on when they will be back up again. This is on our hosting provider and is effecting all of their mailman clients: https://discussion.dreamhost.com/thread-145679-post-182784.html. If I find anything else out I'll let everyone know,godwin ____________________________________ The ThinkTank mailing List <a href="http://lists.bikecollectives.org/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o…">Unsubscribe from this list</a>

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youth and parents/guardians
by Laura Biren 07 Apr '15

07 Apr '15

Hello awesome Think-Tankers, Quick question here from the BF Community Bike Project. A large percentage of the people we work with are at-risk youth in our community. A lot of these youth tend to be under the age of 18, and a good chunk of them are under the age of 14 (down to the age of 8). We're wondering about how strict we should be about allowing youth in here without parents/guardians? We don't want to turn youth away, and we require youth to get waivers signed by their parents... but we also don't want to be liable for anything that could go wrong with having a few young youth running around our premises, youth that aren't part of any specific program we offer. Any thoughts/words of wisdom? Thank you all so much, -- Laura Biren Outreach Intern at BF Community Bike Project bfbike.org 617 939 4330 ____________________________________ The ThinkTank mailing List <a href="http://lists.bikecollectives.org/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o…">Unsubscribe from this list</a>

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Spanish & Tagalog resources please!
by Lauren Warbeck 06 Apr '15

06 Apr '15

Hey folks, I know this request comes across the listserv from time to time, so sorry for not keeping better track of this topic. I'm working on a project with migrant agricultural workers in British Columbia this summer and I'm looking for reproducible Spanish and Tagalog how-to zines, handouts etc. We've got a good multilingual bicycle anatomy diagram that works well for us. I'm interested in anything you wanna send my way, but I'd be particularly interested in guides to patching flats, riding safely, and anything you've found useful for working with migrant workers/migrant agricultural workers more generally. Thanx buddiez! Lauren @ OCB and the Bike Kitchen in Vancouver BC ____________________________________ The ThinkTank mailing List <a href="http://lists.bikecollectives.org/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o…">Unsubscribe from this list</a>

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Mandatory bicycle registration systems-- how to transfer ownership of donated bikes?
by Colin Leath 04 Apr '15

04 Apr '15

Do any of you have to deal with government paperwork for transferring bicycle ownership when repairing or reselling donated bikes? Does anyone else but Hawaii have such a system? If I don't hear from anyone I'll assume it is a system unique to Hawaii. The system is: Mandatory $15 onetime registration fee/tax, if your bike doesn't have a yellow registration sticker on it, police can impound it and give you a $50 ticket. You can get your bike back by paying the $15 tax later. It is really only enforced on homeless people. There are many unregistered bikes around--newcomers and tourists and even long time residents are not complying with the system. To transfer ownership it is $5 and more paperwork. Basically they've been treating bikes like mopeds for many years now. I'm hoping we can do away with that system, and shift to a free registration system like bikeindex.org. We'll see. However, a significant local bike organization, HBL.org, gets funds from the tax for education programs. Thanks for listening! Colin Colin Leath +1 805 699 6411 purl.org/colinleath ____________________________________ The ThinkTank mailing List <a href="http://lists.bikecollectives.org/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o…">Unsubscribe from this list</a>

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Safe space/ safe ride statements?
by Anne Dunckel 04 Apr '15

04 Apr '15

In prep for bike month a group of us are thinking about having a safe ride statement for our group/social rides something akin to a safe space policy. Does anyone have one that I could take a look at? Thanks a ton! -Anne D. ____________________________________ The ThinkTank mailing List <a href="http://lists.bikecollectives.org/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o…">Unsubscribe from this list</a>

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Greeting from the Durham Bicycle Co-operative (Durham, NC, USA)
by DBC Communications Durham Bike Co-op 01 Apr '15

01 Apr '15

Dear fellow subscribers, My name is Marcilla Smith, and I am the Communications Coordinator for the Durham Bicycle Co-operative. We are a 501(c)3 community bike project in Durham, NC, USA founded in 2007. I am writing today to make a first posting introduction, and to ask a question. Earlier this month, the City of Durham agreed to lease our co-op some unused property from the city's parks department. Until this happened, I have been unaware of any bike co-ops that operate on government land. All others with which I am familiar either own the land or lease from a private owner. I am curious if anyone has any additional information about any other community bike projects with facilities on government property. For more information about the Durham Bike Co-op, please visit our website at www.durhambikecoop.org VR, Marcilla Smith Donate to the DBC's Capital Campaign: http://www.razoo.com/story/Dbc-Communications-Durham-Bike-Co-Op-Fundraising… Choose the DBC to receive contributions from Amazon Smile: http://smile.amazon.com/ch/26-3522625 ____________________________________ The ThinkTank mailing List <a href="http://lists.bikecollectives.org/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o…">Unsubscribe from this list</a>

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