We continue to have bikes donated in the rack in front of the shop, whether we allow it or not. We've been bringing them to a small outside 'quarantine' area, leaving for 5 days.
Seems that coronavirus can live up to 2-4 days on plastic and metal, in general.
Bob Giordano, Free Cycles Missoula
Quoting Essen Skabelund essen@bicyclecollective.org:
Hi all,
The (Utah) Bicycle Collective closed on March 13th. Our mechanics worked in the shop with social distancing and hand washing measures (IF they felt comfortable coming to work). Our staff worked hard for 2 weeks to shift online and began taking bike and limited parts purchase by appointment only after those 2 weeks. Customers must browse our *online inventory and pick one bike to test ride. Then book a 20 minute time slot with us. In case the bike is not to their liking they must come with another in mind or we may pick out another that is their size for them. We do curbside service except for payment, then wipe down everything with sanitizer. All staff wear their air filter masks and gloves when interacting with customers. Only one at a time allowed in the shop to pay.
We will begin taking repair services by appointment (curbside dropoff) at the end of this week - something we have never done before. We are normally a DIY shop.
Our other programs and donations are closed. I've been working to engage volunteers online through community engagement and online workshop ideas.
Click this link to see our new Showroom https://bicyclecollective.org/salt-lake-showroom: there's an explanation of services (more announcements to come out tomorrow) here https://bicyclecollective.org/salt-lake-latest/item/911-bicycle-collective-open-by-appointment .
Does anyone have safe practices or ideas for taking donations? We've thought of creating a quarantine area (moving aside items in our storage unit to make part of it a quarantine area, leave bikes there for 2 weeks or so before touching). Or sanitizing outside before bringing inside. Having donors schedule an appointment for drop off. Ring doorbell and leave by door. If need a donation receipt they can call.
Any safe practices or ideas for accepting clients who need a bicycle for transportation (we have a charitable program where they can for free or by volunteering 6 hours)? Still working on this one, as our populations may be more susceptible to the virus, given it is a large part of the homeless population.
*Essen Skabelund* *Volunteer and Program Coordinator* Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective 2312 S. West Temple, SLC, UT 84115 801-328-2453 www.bicyclecollective.org
*The mission of the Bicycle Collective is to promote cycling as an effective and sustainable form of transportation and as a cornerstone of a cleaner, healthier, and safer society. The Collective provides refurbished bicycles and educational programs to the community, focusing on children and lower income households.*