Grants Awarded for Bay Area Adaptive Bikeshare Pilots

The MTC Regional Network Management Committee last week approved $200,000 in grants to help fund adaptive bikeshare pilot projects for people with disabilities in five Bay Area cities. 

Funding has been provided through the One Bay Area Grants (OBAG 3) Climate Initiatives program.

A contract with the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department (SFRPD) for up to $100,000 will supplement an existing adaptive bikeshare program in San Francisco, supporting no-charge adaptive cycling for people with disabilities in Golden Gate Park and along the Great Highway.

A separate contract for up to $100,000 was awarded to the Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program (BORP Adaptive Sports and Recreation). BORP will develop a new, no-charge adaptive bikeshare program for people with disabilities in Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland and San Jose.

Both grants will support the purchase of new adaptive e-bikes, equipment maintenance and program staff.

Adaptive bikeshare programs use handcycles, recumbent bikes, side-by-side tandem bicycles and modified bikes so that people with disabilities (including people who use wheelchairs) can experience the joys of biking.

There have been two Bay Area adaptive bikeshare programs to date – in San Francisco and in Oakland – and this program seeks to expand on those successes.