Free Fare for Bike to Work Week Participants
Prince George, B.C.- When Bike to Work Week comes around at the end of this month, participants will be able to hitch a ride on Prince George Transit for free.
It means it will cost the City about $250 in lost revenue.
City Council has unanimously approved the free fare proposal but participants will need to have a sticker on their helmet or on their bike in order to take advantage of this offer that will be in effect from May 28th to June 3rd.
And bicyclists will also have 4 new bike racks to lock their wheels to.
Integris Credit Union, the City of Prince George, and the Prince George Cycling Club joined forces to provide more parking for cyclists in key locations across the City. New bike racks have been installed in four locations: Handsome Cabin Boy Tattoo, the Activator Society, the Prince George Aquatic Centre, and Prince George City Hall.
The bike racks were part of the 2011 Bike to Work & School Week Challenge, where teams of commuters competed for the highest cycling participation rate during the week-long challenge. The grand prizes for the challenge, sponsored by Integris Credit Union, were the installation of three Cora Bike Racks, valued at $450 each.
When notified of their winnings, the teams decided to donate their prize back to the community. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers and EDI Environmental Dynamics donated their bike racks to the Prince George Aquatic Centre, and Statistics Canada donated their racks to the Activator Society, a halfway house located downtown which supports previously institutionalized community members begin a new life.
Sid Madhok, Director of Facilities for the Activator Society, was very appreciative of the donation. “Many of clients need bicycles for finding and starting new jobs, accessing health care, and visiting their families. It’s very helpful for them to safe, sheltered place to store their bicycle so they know it will be there in the morning when the need to go to attend a job interview.”
Inspired by the program, the bike rack supplier, Cora Bike Racks, donated a fourth bike rack which was installed on the front steps of City Hall. The Prince George Cycling donated a fifth rack to Handsome Cabin Boy Tattoo – a team that achieved a 100% cycling rate during the challenge but did not qualify for the grand prizes.
For more information on Bike to Work & School Week, visit: www.biketowork.ca/princegeorge
Comments
So if I have a bicycle helmet with a sticker on it, when I get on my regular scheduled daily bus ride, I get it free for 1 week?
Why would those riding their bikes want to get on a bus?
$250 must be a misprint.
It’s summer, shut the bus service down and use that money to fix our roads, most city buses I see are running around nearly empty, just shut them down and those users could just call a cab!
Hold one of these in January.
It really bugs me when people say that the buses are not busy, or that people can just call a cab. Most bus users are lower income, or prefer to spend their hard-earned money on other things. Public transit is part of having a modern and liveable city and should be one of the last things cut. Unfortunately, this city cuts the service every summer. Fewer buses mean fewer people ride, meaning that they can justify cutting the service further. It’s a chicken and egg issue. I take the bus a lot in the winter but rarely in summer; if it takes me less than 40 minutes to walk to my destination I am better off walking than waiting for the next hourly bus. Some people don’t have the mobility to do that; lets not isolate them further in their homes by cutting off their transporation.
Well said sarahsmith!
The buses have bike racks on the front which means cyclists can avoid huge hills like the Hart and the University by hopping on a bus with their bike. The racks on the University Routes are almost always full.
And now we have four locations that have bike racks to lock up your bike. In the past there have been very few places where bike racks were available. Would I leave my bike unattended at those places where there were no rackss? Not likely.
Cheers
Having the Hart route free for cyclist would be a good idea all summer…But only because the Hart is still not a bike or pedestrian friendly area. I like to cycle to and from work and would like to make it there and home safely.
Sarah: “It really bugs me when people say that the buses are not busy”
Why, because the truth hurts? If the local transit service wasn’t subsidized, it would go out of business. What really hurts is watching empty busses ride around town. I keep wondering how much it costs to sustain that?
Well said Johnnybelt! My exact point! If they want a transit system make it user pay, we already pay for our cars and insurance why do bus riders get subsidized and not the rest of the city residents?
On a user pay system, vehicle owners would be resposible for covering the cost of our road maintenance, free parking downtown, highways garbage pickup, snow removal etc. The most expensive line items in the municipal budget really only benefit those with vehicles. We’ve bankrupted our citizenry with poor city planning – forcing people to own vehicles for their basic transportation needs. Hats off the the bus riders. They have clearly outsmarted the lot of you.
I haven’t used the hospital at all for about 5 years. Should i pay every year through my taxes?I don’t have kids in school. Should my taxes go towards schools? I don’t play soccer. Should my taxes support soccer fields? A healthy community is one that includees a range of services and structures, many of which an individual resident will never or rarely take advantage of. That doesn’t mean our taxes shouldn’t support them. They are there so that when we need or want them, we can access them without having to worry about paying the cost upfront. Besides, any one of us could suffer a stroke, get hit by a car or whatever, and suddenly need to use the bus service. It’s rather nice to know it’s there. I don’t wnat to live in a society that doesnt value haivng a range of options avaialble for ALL citiens.
Sarah- you are so right with your statement although your ignoring the fact that the FOUNDATION of our community is falling apart!! If we ran our households the same way we would leave the leaking roof alone and go buy a big screen TV. Think about it….necessities before luxuries. :-)
One day we will come to realization that we (the taxpayers) can’t fund everything. It’s not sustainable.
Jim has it right, we have ignored the basics for too long.
Sarah: “Besides, any one of us could suffer a stroke, get hit by a car or whatever, and suddenly need to use the bus service.”
I would hope that you would call an ambulance in that situation. We have yet to make some hard choices, we still believe that everything can be funded somehow.
One day we will have to make a choice to fund the hospital or the bus system (for example). I choose the hospital, for what it’s worth.
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