I've been worried about our workstation becoming a contamination depot, of course. All public surfaces, even if they are decontaminated regularly, will be to some extent.
However, there is a significant percentage of our target demographic that relies on us for daily survival, and mainly I refer to the homeless. These are people who, if they didn't have our workstation, would just be doing some other sketchy thing contamination-wise to stay operational.
The other sectors of our demographic don't need this kind of help, and probably have their own air pumps and remedial tools at home. I'm at the shop alone several times a week, and have a good idea who uses the station and when. Honestly, I don't think it's really being used except by a handful of solitary people, and they're mostly using the air pump.
As for other public-facing activities, we're open for retail, and customers are instructed not to touch anything except bikes that are being testridden. This is another area that we don't face significant traffic, we get possibly one or two customers per day at most in these times.
As for decontaminating bikes, I wipe down the seat, controls, grips, and top tube after each test ride, and when doing intake on a customer bike.
Speaking of customer bikes, we are not a shop that does repair for people, we only teach people how to do repairs themselves. However, recently we got a typical misguided question via Facebook about how much we charged for a given repair, and it occurred to me that since we weren't allowing people to repair the bikes themselves, and had a decrease in things to do as a result of closing open shop, we might as well accept bikes for repair during this period. This is not something we advertise anywhere other than in direct response to a spontaneous request, and we make it clear to each customer that this is not a regular thing. We've had three customers of this type thus far. I feel that this transactional dynamic is one that's very easy create as a controlled process, and decontaminating bikes under this circumstance is trivial. Just another technical thing to do to a bike among the usual array of procedures.
As for classification as an essential service, automobile repair garages are typically classified as essential services. We are a transportation provider and as assist to people who use their bikes to buy groceries and keep medical appointments. Bicycles are not a luxury and they are not primarily a recreational toy, they are a fundamental life utility and in some cases people rely on them to survive.
I queried Claire from Vélorution Paris deliberately here to provide an example to the list of recognition that bicycles are an essential service - the city of Paris recognizes this. As of a few days ago, New York City does now as well.
Of course, this means that if we *are* an essential service, this makes it even more imperative that we create and adhere to strict protocols to protect the community we serve even as we struggle to empower them.
Stay strong, healthy and hopeful cyclistas!
~cyclista Nicholas
On 2020-03-26 22:09, Bob Giordano wrote:
Hi Carlyn,
at Free Cycles Missoula we've closed completely, not even doing emergency bikes/repairs/drop offs, anything. we'll have a good crop of sale bikes when we reopen, and a clean, organized shop.
Not doing outside public repair stands for the reasons you've mentioned.
We aim to reopen june 1st- could be earlier or later- we just wanted a date in our staff of 4's head.
Our staff of 4 are working safely and responsibly together, altho we've taken zones. We even have 4 separate doors, 3 separate bathrooms, each have a tool kit, etc. We're also mentally and physically prepared to stay away from the shop completely, if needed, which it looks more and more like.
Our staff have been making these nimble and quick decisions, keeping our small board up to date as needed, and they are supportive of what we need to do.
As we clean up around here, we're not doing 'free piles' outside (too much public handling of stuff). We're staging trash, thrift store, recycling piles. However we've had a couple trusted folks take scrap steel away.
We plan to reopen stronger than ever, and ultimately we feel that is best for us and the community. Missoula has been very supportive and understanding.
2 of us are also focusing on grants, all 4 of us are taking time to think deeply, to share writings, and slow down.
Bob Giordano, Free Cycles Missoula
Quoting Carlyn Arteaga carlyn.arteaga@bicas.org:
I appreciate you sharing all your thoughts and ideas.
At BICAS in Tucson we had to dismantle our outdoor fix a flat station. Staff working alone inside the shop witnessed clumps of people congregating very close to each other and at least one individual who was there for 3 hours coughing on everything. As much was we wanted to help people out, we couldn't justify the germ spreading station we had created.
We have approved a skeleton plan for opening for limited repair services in a couple weeks. How are others handling this? How do you do intakes? By appointment only or do you take walk ins? How are you protecting your people and the public? How are you sanitizing bikes you work on? And in what ways do you see your services as an "essential service," keeping in mind that any interfacing with the public right now involves some amount of risk, for which the ultimate potential consequence is death? Or if you have decided to remain closed, how did you arrive at that decision, knowing that there are people who need bike help and are not going to be able to access it?
I know these are the Big Questions (esp the last couple) we're all grappling with right now, I just wanted to have some frank conversations about why doing what we're doing right now so we can all chew it over.
Please be kind with one another as we respond. None of us has the playbook for this crisis or truly even enough data yet to know which decisions will end of being the right ones in the end. Thank you all in advance, ~Carlyn
--
*Carlyn Arteaga*
*pronouns: they/them/theirs*
Youth Program Coordinator
*BICAS*
2001 N. 7th Ave. | Tucson, AZ 85701 | Shop: 520-628-7950
carlyn.arteaga@bicas.org | www.bicas.org | Facebook http://www.facebook.com/bicascollective/ | Instagram http://www.instagram.com/bicastucson/
*Through advocacy and bicycle salvage, our mission is to participate in affordable bicycle transportation, education, and creative recycling with our greater Tucson community.*
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