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The BikeMobile Visits Berkeley

April 24, 2012 [Update]
A newly-designed Alameda County BikeMobile showed off its new look at an inaugural ceremony and bike Fix-a-Thon event this week at Rosa Parks Elementary School in Berkeley. The BikeMobile and its bicycle mechanic staff visit schools and community organizations and events to deliver no-cost hands-on bicycle repair and bicycle safety training and to promote riding bikes to school. While Alameda County children are the primary beneficiaries, the BikeMobile also reaches out to interested parents, teachers and community members, especially in low-income communities.

BikeMobile Fix-a-Thons are pre-arranged using an online signup form at www.bike-mobile.org. On the designated day, students bring their bikes to the BikeMobile, recognizable by its bright graphics, parked at their school or at another pre-determined location. BikeMobile staff supply parts and expertise to help youths repair their bikes. Accessories, such as locks, lights and bike helmets, are also available to increase bicycle safety and to encourage children’s enthusiasm for riding bikes to school.

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February 8, 2012
Owning and maintaining a bicycle just got easier for Alameda County residents – especially low-income wannabe cyclists and those without easy access to a bike shop. The Alameda County Bikemobile made its first visit on January 21 at the Manzanita Wellness Fair in Oakland’s Fruitvale district.

“The event was a huge success despite the wet weather!” said Tommy Bensko, Bikemobile coordinator with Cycles of Change, a nonprofit organization that aims to make it safe and easy for people in East Bay communities to use bicycles as their primary form of transportation.

According to Bensko, Bikemobile staff at the wellness fair helped about 35 people over three hours and fixed 14 bicycles. Most repairs were for flat tires, and brake and shifter tune ups. A few participants also needed some simple part replacements. It was a great opportunity for youth, many of whom got to help with their own repairs, including one first grader who replaced his own broken pedals with new ones. Other activities included the popular “Bike Blender” station, a helmet safety station and the “Skillz Drills Bike Rodeo.” Information was also provided about physical, nutritional and mental health.

The Bikemobile was made possible thanks to a $500,000 grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to the Alameda County Transportation Commission (Alameda CTC), as part of MTC’s Safe Routes to School program. Safe Routes to School, which is one many programs funded under MTC’s Climate Initiatives Program, aims to increase the number of children who walk or bicycle to school by funding projects that remove barriers to such activities. Alameda CTC, in turn, contracted with Cycles of Change to run the Bikemobile, and it also provided some matching funds.

“There are many barriers that prevent kids from biking or walking to school,” said Craig Goldblatt, MTC’s Safe Routes to School program manager. “Barriers often include lack of infrastructure, unsafe facilities that result in uninviting walking and bicycling conditions, and lack of education and enforcement programs.”

“We discovered that up to 50 percent of students do not ride their bikes because they are not functional, often due to minor problems such as flat tires and worn out brakes,” said Bensko. “Since many students don’t have access to professional bike repair because of geographic or financial limitations, we decided to bring the bike repair to them.”

The mobile truck is part of a pilot program that visits schools, community centers, parks and local events across the county. It will make a total of 200-275 visits over the course of the two-year project. Bikemobile services are free and specifically focus on underprivileged communities. In addition to funding for the Bikemobile vehicle itself, the grant also covers special events, such as bike safety trainings at schools, “walk and bike to school days,” mechanics and safety workshops for high school groups, and an alternative commute program tailored to teachers, staff and parents.

The Bikemobile builds upon the award-winning Cycles of Change bicycle education program, founded in 1998. In 2010 MTC recognized Cycles of Change in its annual awards program for “Transportation Education for the Next Generation.” Back then, Cycles of Change focused on teaching kids to ride bikes in safe schoolyards before moving them on to more advanced skills, such practicing on bike field trips to places of ecological and cultural interest. The Bikemobile takes the program up a notch by traveling directly into communities and making repairs and other bicycle services even easier for people to access.

“The Bikemobile is definitely a model for other such efforts across the region or even the country,” Bensko said. “In particular, it’s a model for larger jurisdictions like counties, where it really makes sense to have a vehicle equipped with all the bicycling resources needed in one place. It makes it easier and more efficient to provide this valuable service.”

Bensko said Cycles of Change will soon post a calendar of scheduled Bikemobile visits. The schedule and other program information will be available on the Cycles of Change Bikemobile web page.