Hello Everyone and Happy Friday!

As we get closer to the holiday season and of course Thanksgiving, we thought it would be great to highlight one of our key community partners who is out in the community, rain or shine helping people get to work, school or home; Boulder B-cycle! I was excited to learn about Boulder B-cycle and the many opportunities they have to help provide a connected system for transportation methods and building awareness around the importance of this issue.

Coming from a rural Arizona community, I never rode the bus except for when I was in public school and almost never rode a bike, unless it was for exercise or vacation. Moving to Boulder and seeing the mass use of alternative transportation options was so exciting. I now have an eco-pass thanks to my full-time position at The Community Foundation, but I often have meetings and it is difficult to ride the bus when you need to make it a few miles down the road in a short amount of time.

I recently sat down with Kevin Bell the Marketing & Communications Manager to talk about who Boulder B-cycle is and why this form of transportation is so key for our community.

1.  What is the mission of Boulder B-cycle?  A community supported bike-sharing program that provides older residents, commuters and visitors with an environmentally-friendly, financially stable and affordable transportation option. It’s cost efficient and it’s fun.  The main idea is to get people out of cars for trips that could just be as easily taken by bikes.  The idea is that there will always be bikes available no matter what part of town you’re in.
2.  If you had one catch phrase for Boulder B-cycle what would it be?  It’s better to share, as a bike sharing program it’s better to share and there are ways in which bike sharing is better than a lot of the other alternatives.  You get exercise, flexibility and connection to public transit.  Also there a lot of safety features on Boulder B-cycles.  You also can use your pass from Boulder B-cycle for the Denver B-cycle, which is very convenient!
3.  Why is Boulder B-cycle defined as a non-profit?  Most bike-share systems are not non-profit but Boulder B-cycle is very unique because it is a non-profit.  Boulder B-cycle has an environmental, educational and transportation system that is otherwise not provided by any other nonprofit.  We felt being a nonprofit is a perfect position to start from in order to introduce ourselves to the community and build a community of bike sharing.
4.  What is your vision for Boulder B-cycle over the next five years?  A full system build out is expected within the next five  to ten years. It is all about station location. Currently we have 38 stations and over 200 bikes! Full system build out is between 65 to 90 stations or over 700 bikes. We are currently on track to do over 40,000 trips this year! We have been around for 3 years and were one of the first bike-sharing programs in the United States.  We’re still trying to figure out the best way to price bike sharing, and how to make it an in-depth and connected network of transportation.
5.  How is Boulder B-cycle’s relationship with About Boulder improving the community you serve?About Boulder is also unique because it is a great place for anyone from any sector can share and learn information about their community.  About Boulder is very content based and is always for our community of Boulder.
6.  How do you feel Boulder B-cycle gives back to the community?  Providing transportation is critical. By educating our community members about bike-sharing we have already saved over 4,488 gallons of gasoline, spared 26,417 lbs of carbon emissions and helped individuals burn over 4.1 million calories!  Another key point is to make transportation accessible.We have many partnerships with other nonprofits to help provide transportation options to low-income individuals.  We often give free memberships through different non-profit partnerships.We also provide student discounts and the general opportunity to participate in this bike-sharing program.
7.  Do you use Boulder B-cycle and why?  Yes and almost all of our staff use the bike-sharing system. I have found that this system is much more convenient because are bike sharers do not have to lock their bikes every time they go somewhere they just have to put in a slot and go where they need to. When you need another bike there will be another waiting for you.
8. What inspires you about Boulder B-cycle?  It’s a fun place to work!  The field is up and coming and on the verge of transforming our transportation system. One thing that strikes me, is that we often don’t hear from our but when we hear from people whether it’s replying to a newsletter or just shooting us an email, customers always tell us much they appreciate the opportunity to use the system.  It’s a great opportunity to see how this system is actually affecting those in the community. We’re filling a need for people and it’s great to be able to see that in-person.

Did you know?

Boulder B-Cycle is Open 24 hours a day 7 days a week! (Even during the Winter!)

Students and Military Members Get A Discount!

Bike-sharing is not just for vacations!

I hope you enjoyed learning about this amazing non-profit partner in our community as much as I did. I am hoping that through this blog we can keep sharing these great stories of philanthropy and the giving nature of the Boulder Community. There are so many ways to share the wealth in your community through gifts of time, money or just by spreading the word. If you know someone philanthropic who you think deserves recognition, let me know because we would love to share!

 Learn More: Boulder B-cycle

Beryl Durazo Director of Giving