Stakeholders to gather in Philadelphia this summer to advance national discourse
on bike share, equity and community
PHILADELPHIA (May 23, 2016) — On the heels of the one-year anniversary of Philadelphia’s Indego bike share program, the City of Philadelphia will host the first Better Bike Share Conference on June 22-24, 2016. The Better Bike Share Conference will bring together system operators, city transportation officials, social justice advocates, and partners from across the nation to discuss how bike share programs fit in the context of broader community needs, such as access to jobs, better health and reducing violence.
The event is a collaboration of the City, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), and PeopleForBikes. The conference and the organizing coalition, known as the Better Bike Share Partnership (BBSP), are made possible through a grant from The JPB Foundation.
More than 100 attendees are expected to attend the inaugural event. Experts from across the nation will share best practices, conduct workshops and facilitate discussions about the importance of reaching underserved communities and serving needs of residents. Philadelphia was the first city to fully integrate equity into its goals, strategies and implementation of its bike share program and is considered a national model for developing equitable transportation. The conference will showcase the ways that leaders of Philadelphia’s Indego bike share strive to integrate equity into all aspects of the program including; station siting, payment and pricing options, outreach, education, marketing, collaboration with community-based partners and workforce development.
“The City of Philadelphia is committed to ensuring equitable access to our Indego bike share system and all modes of transportation,” said Clarena Tolson, Philadelphia’s Deputy Managing Director for Transportation and Infrastructure. “Bike share has the potential to transform mobility, improve health outcomes and increase access to opportunity. It can only reach its full potential if it reaches people of all demographics and incomes.”
“I am honored and excited to speak at the Better Bike Share Conference in Philadelphia,” said Tamika Butler, executive director, the Los Angeles Bicycle Coalition. “This will be an innovative and thought provoking conference. The Better Bike Share Conference will bring together thought leaders from across the country to talk about the systematic inequities in our society and the importance of these inequities being at the center of bike share and bike advocacy.”
Registration for the Better Bike Share Conference is now open at www.bikeshareconference.org. The City of Philadelphia encourages anyone working in the fields of bike share, city building, community development, transportation, equity or social justice to attend. Early bird registration is available through June 1, 2016.
Scholarships and stipends are available for eligible participants. Follow the conference link above for more information.
About the Better Bike Share Partnership (BBSP)
The BBSP is a collaboration funded by The JPB Foundation to build equitable and replicable bike share systems. The partners include The City of Philadelphia, Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) and PeopleForBikes.
This grant supported the launch of the City of Philadelphia’s Indego Bike Share system in April 2015 by providing funding for 20 stations and additional staff and outreach into underserved communities within Philadelphia, in coordination with the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. The BBSP also funds work at the national level, through best practices research and the sharing of work conducted by NACTO. In addition, BBSP funds a set of grants, storytelling work and research administered by People for Bikes.
For more information on the partnership and the conference, please visit www.betterbikeshare.org or contact Ms. Ryan Dawson Fuerman at ryan@betterbikeshare.org.