Pedal power
Bikes left on buses should go to needy kids
Few images conjure the joy of childhood like a bicycle in motion. But some kids don’t know the exhilaration of the wind in their face and the independence in their heart as they pedal away from their home base. They don’t own a bike and they can’t afford to buy one.
It pulls the heartstrings to think of the Port Authority’s protocol of dumping abandoned bicycles that have gone unclaimed for a month, even if those being discarded are in need of repair. And the other aspect of their protocol — giving bus drivers the option of keeping the bikes they found — seems a bit selfish.
The Post- Gazette’s Ed Blazina reported that the number of bicycles left on Port Authority racks or on buses — either by forgetful riders or thieves who are ditching the evidence — is on the rise.
The procedure, as it is, involves the bikes being turned over to Port Authority customer service, which keeps them for 30 days. If they go unclaimed, they can become the property of the bus drivers who turned in the bikes. Or the bikes are pitched. ( If you’re missing a bike, you can call the customer service office at 412- 442- 2000 but do it before a month passes.)
So far this year, 13 bikes went to the Port Authority drivers who turned them in and another 10 were thrown away because of their poor condition.
A spokesman for the authority said the policy is under review and it well should be. Port Authority should be donating all found bicycles that are unclaimed for 30 days to charitable agencies or people who are willing to fix them up.
Greg Webster would be happy to see them come his way. He is the donation and logistics manager for Construction Junction at 214 North Lexington St. in Point Breeze. Construction Junction shares some space with the Free Ride Bicycle Collective. People with unwanted or unneeded bikes, in riding condition or not, can drop them off at the property. They’ll even take bike parts. Free Ride volunteers will retool them and get them to those with the need or the desire.
Port Authority CEO Katharine Eagan Kelleman, who joined the authority in January 2018, has asked for a review of her agency’s policy in light of her own previous experience: Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority in Tampa, Fla., donates unclaimed bicycles to an agency that inspects, makes any necessary repairs, then donates them. This is the path Port Authority should take.