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The endeavor is just getting underway, but already has "...five requests and three donations so far but I am hoping that will ramp up as soon as more cities come online," Braitsch told Streetsblog via email. "We’re partnering with Bikes Not Bombs to launch in Boston on Friday. Denver Streets Partnerships is also onboard, working through details with them now."
The inspiration for this came out of a Transportation Alternatives'Bike Match in New York City, a form for offering bikes for donation. "We’ve basically taken their Google form and converted into a microsite that will allow us to easily add additional cities if someone wants to spin this up outside of SF," explained Braitsch.
#bikematch is now in SF, thanks to long-time member + current @sfbike board member, @braitsch! If you know of someone who needs a bike to get around town, or you have an extra bike to donate, check out the site below! https://t.co/xc6v5IyhIJ
Braitsch has already spoken with the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, as seen in the tweet above. Other bike advocacy groups will also be lending a hand--or a bike. "There are a lot of orgs that are either thinking of doing this or are in the process of rolling their own bespoke solution," added Braitsch. "I’m trying to get ahead of that and get as many orgs as possible on our platform so we can build out a gallery that shows all of the connections we’ve made across the US."
Braitsch and Sadle aren't the only people trying to help essential workers by getting them bikes. Bay Area bike manufacturer Specialized has pledged to donate at least 500 new bikes directly to healthcare workers, grocery store clerks, farmers, and other critical employees. More on that story from Streetsblog USA.
The founders of the Bay Area's advocacy group dedicated to fare integration and rational schedules talk about a half-decade of fighting for better transit and what's likely to happen in the next five years.