Bikeshare

Looking for a bike related activity for this cold Saturday? You could try the Coldest Day of the Year Ride, starting at the Grenadier Cafe in High Park at noon. Or you could go to the Live Auction of 5 of the legendary yellow BikeShare bikes starting at 3pm at the Community Bicycle Network at Queen and Euclid.

The info is posted below:

CBN Open House and Auction

Join us on Saturday, January 30th, from 12 to 6pm, when we will hold an all-afternoon Open House!

We will be holding a Live Auction for five of the legendary yellow Bikeshare bikes at 3pm. Get them while the getting's good!

Also, throughout the day (and ending at 5pm) there will be a Silent Auction for high-end and unique vintage parts.

And if you don't want to hang around till that happens, just drop by and get used parts at astonishing prices - we will be slashing our always-low prices on used parts. (All used parts just $2.00 -- One Day Only.)

Plus, hot cocoa and snacks to keep you warm on a wintery bike day.

(If you're planning to go to the Coldest Day of the Year Ride, there should still be time to get to CBN's auction afterward, so you can do it all!)

See you then!

Coldest Day of the Year Ride

Saturday, January 30, 2010 - 12:00

What: Come out for a group ride on the statistically coldest day of the year.

The Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation (TCAT), The Clean Air Partnership & The Community Bicycle Network are proud to present:

Bikes as a public good:
What is the future of public bikes in Toronto?

There's a funny story behind this. Back in February, I was approached by the ad company JCDecaux with an offer of money if we (CBN) hosted a bikesharing forum. I accepted with eyes open - I knew that JCDecaux was just looking for angles to convince the City of Toronto to buy into their bikesharing system (a la Velib fame). But I figured that couldn't be such a bad thing and even better at least it would offer some kind of public forum where people could debate what kind of bikesharing we want in this city. The funny part is that JCDecaux gave up and took back their offer, but we (CBN and TCAT) are still going ahead with the forum, but with a Transport Canada grant.

In the Globe and Mail article, Bicycles made for vous, Susan Sachs illuminates the new bikesharing program in Paris (earlier reported on by Darren). She does a reasonable job recounting the various bike sharing projects in Europe and North America, including Toronto's Bikeshare program which was run by the Community Bicycle Network for 5 successful years:

Toronto's BikeShare project, run by a non-profit group and funded by the city, closed last year after five years of operation. At its peak, it offered 150 yellow bicycles from 18 pickup and drop-off points, but the program suffered from a high incidence of vandalism and theft.

I could perhaps forgive Sachs for getting the facts wrong since only volunteers are checking CBN phones these days and they probably missed her fact-checking call.

Susan: Bikeshare was NOT funded by the city. CBN was trying to move away from private funders who would only provide one-off funding on a year by year basis. It was just too unstable, administratively onerous, and the funds were slowly dwindling as funders got bored with the successful program. Bikeshare ended not because of bike theft or vandalism, it was because the money ran dry from private funding sources and the city wouldn't pick up the tab.

Last Thursday Community Bicycle Network supporters got together to discuss the future of the Network. CBN has been around since 1993 as a hub of various projects, ranging from working with youth on getting bike mechanics skills to bicycle recycling clubs to Bikeshare, a renowned bicycle lending program.

The feeling from the meeting was that there was renewed energy in a group of demoralized supporters. A lot of ideas were passed around that will then be put before the Annual General Meeting so the membership can decide the best actions. I had a few favorite ideas for what CBN is especially suited to take on - ideas I felt were strongly supported by the group at the gathering.

One is to explore more a model of (almost) self-sustainability through having income-generating projects that also support community access to affordable resources: cycling education, recycling, lending, and tool sharing. A focus on low-income groups would be done through this sustainable model.

Tonight's the night to come and unleash all of your awesome ideas for Toronto's Community Bicycle Network (not to mention getting to meet Large Marge, iBikeTO blogger extraordinaire). What will happen to the 150 yellow bikes that are currently collecting cobwebs in storage? What kind of programming could/should be planned for the upcoming months and years? It's up to you to decide!

CBN will also be accepting nomination for its Advisory Board.

As posted by CBN:
Community Bicycle Network lives beyond Bikeshare! Have your say.

CBN Town Hall Meeting – May 10th, 2007 6:30PM
CBN Intersection | 761 Queen Street West

With the unfortunate loss of funding for the popular Bikeshare program, the Community Bicycle Network hopes to modify programming in a way that will be enable us to continue to assist in making cycling accessible to low-income communities and to share our collective resources, while managing to be financially sustainable.

On May 10, 2007 at 6:30pm, CBN will host a Town Hall meeting to discuss the future direction of the organization. Now's your chance to speak your two cents, to participate in the cycling movement which continues to grow as a vibrant part of Toronto life!

While I still have a bit of a bad taste in my mouth over the whole Bikeshare funding debacle last year, I intend to wash it away with juice, cookies and productive conversation at the CBN Townhall. I can't wait to hear what ideas might be in store for this dynamic organization!

As posted by the Community Bicycle Network:

CBN Town Hall Meeting – May 10th, 2007 - 6:30PM
CBN Intersection | 761 Queen Street West

With the unfortunate loss of funding for the popular Bikeshare program, the Community Bicycle Network hopes to modify programming in a way that will be enable us to continue to assist in making cycling accessible to low-income communities and to share our collective resources, while managing to be financially sustainable.

On May 10, 2007 at 6:30pm, CBN will host a Town Hall meeting to discuss the future direction of the organization. Now is your chance to speak your two cents, to participate in the cycling movement which continues to grow as a vibrant part of Toronto life!

Due space constraints please RSVP to: info@communitybicyclenetwork.org