Community shop urgently needs bikes
Program offers free bicycles to those in need
A program that provides bicycles for lower-income people who need them for transportation is pleading for donations because of a shortage of bikes caused by the pandemic.
Pedals for the People offers free bikes to Vancouverites with no other way to get to things like job interviews, medical appointments or grocery shopping. This includes those who can't afford transit, don't have access to vehicles, are precariously housed, and face mental health or health struggles.
It's a program of Our Community Bikes, a community shop devoted to providing bikes, maintenance, work opportunities, job training, and bike parts for those who need bikes the most.
The shop depends on donated used bikes which are refurbished. As they are refurbished, training is provided in bicycle mechanics to people such as at risk-youth. Around 40 per cent of the refurbished bikes are given away to people facing financial barriers.
But the pandemic has increased the demand for bikes as people switched to outdoor recreation, while slowing production and shipping of bikes and parts. That has reduced donations to the program even as the demand for bikes from those in need has also increased.
The program increased distribution of bikes by close to 50 per cent over the past year, but the demand remains off the charts. If bike donations don't increase, says Sophia Suderman, executive director of Our Community Bikes, bike giveaways and job training may be threatened or scaled back.
“We've actually outpaced our donation streams, so we're seeing an extreme shortage of bikes. In the month of May, we had about 30 per cent of what we would normally have of bikes on hand, so we're really struggling to keep up,” said.
“If things continue in this way, it's really going to threaten our ability to provide training but also for some of the most vulnerable people in our community, it really does mean the difference between them being able to earn an income, or being able to access services, and their social support network. It's a really big deal.”
Suderman is also facing difficulties getting new or used bike parts due to pandemic backlogs.
Emre Basci got a free bike from the program after arriving in Vancouver as a refugee from Turkey, where he taught marketing and held two PhDs before facing ramifications for criticizing the Erdogan government. He had no financial means even for transportation.
“The transportation costs are really high in Vancouver, $3 for one trip. I've been here for a year and two months and I didn't have financial resources. So, I needed that bike to economize, to pick up the items I needed in the neighbourhood, or to do my supermarket grocery shopping,” Basci said.
The 40-year-old awaits his permanent residency.
Our Community Bikes on an average gives out 80 to 100 bikes a year, and plans to provide 40 to 60 bikes next month to KidSafe, a charity that provides summer programming for kids living in poverty.
“The way we are currently operating is threatened by a shortage of bikes, so we need more donations.
“We're looking for adult size bikes that don't have steel wheels and aren't rusty. We're also looking for donations of parts and accessories that we can put to good use,” Suderman said.