Well, I think you made it clear that your low-income customers don't have any traditional collateral (money or valuable assets) to guarantee safe return of the trailers. I would just accept that fact -- you are going to loose some.
Given that, I would suggest one of the following:
(1) Get your money's worth first -- in time. AKA the required number of volunteer hours they must contribute BEFORE HAND in lieu of adequate traditional collateral should generate enough actual revenue for your community shop that you could buy a new trailer. Also that investment in time might
(2) Give them ownership. Make them part owner of a trailer, which means they would get a commission off future rentals. If the trailer represents residual income, they are more likely to protect it (and turn each other in). Obviously you want to be careful not to fund someone's drug habit or inadvertently spawn other negative behaviors just for the sake of overpriced metal and rubber.
(3) Have an easy way to recover the trailers. Lojack systems with GPS and other things have a fundamental flaws in that these 'digital' systems require some serious battery power and footprints (too big). However, old school 'analog' systems like those used for "Radio Tracking for Wildlife Animals" are the size of a grain of rice, have a 5 miles range, and don't need to recharge for up to 5 years. One of our mechanics does wildlife management in the summers and used gear from Teleonics and Blue Sky. Here are some suppliers:
http://nhsbig.inhs.uiuc.edu/wes/equipment_suppliers.html
Sincerely,
Jonathan Morrison
Executive Director
Bicycle Collective
2312 S. West Temple
Salt Lake City, UT 84115
w: 801-328-2453
c: 801-688-0183
f: 801-466-3856www.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.
Hey All,
I work at Bike Recycle Vermont, a community shop specifically designed to serve the low/no income population in Burlington VT and beyond. We get a ton of use out of our Bikes at Work trailer. We are currently trying to design a rental program so that we can lend our trailer out to the low income customers we serve. Our only reservations come from not being able to ensure trailers safe return. Loss/damage is an obvious assumed risk when anything is rented out. Generally, that risk is shared between the customer and the org, but our challenge in renting to low income customers is what acts as collateral if customers have no ID or access to money? We are planning to offer a day-time only rental to coincide with our daily hours along with substantial locks for both the trailer and bike. Any suggestions or models that exist elsewhere that may be helpful. Thanks,
Dan
--
Dan Hock
Bike Recycle Vermont Program Manager
w. 802.264.9687
Bike Recycle Vermont
664 Riverside Ave. Burlington
Learn to ride a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live.
~Mark Twain
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