Philadelphia was the first U.S. city to incorporate bike equity into its planning from the start, said Steve Taylor, spokesman for the League of American Bicyclists, a biking advocacy group based in Washington, D.C.
Waffiyyah Murray, program manager of Philadelphia’s Better Bike Share Partnership, said city officials took note of how other places had been slow to include underserved communities. “Equity has to be the focal point,” she said.
In 2015, the city rolled out its Indego bike-share, installing 20 stations in underserved communities and offering a cash payment option, and then in 2016 adding a discounted pass for people who receive public assistance. The city even offered a digital literacy and safe bike riding course: Digital Skills and Bicycle Thrills.
It can be difficult to measure the costs of the programs, however. There’s very little data, said Nathan McNeil, the urban studies researcher at Portland State University who authored the June report.
Equity is the focal point of the program?
