The Better Bike Share Partnership (BBSP) is an effort led by the City of Philadelphia that works to ensure that Indego bike share is accessible to all Philadelphians. The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia is a non­profit advocacy and education organization working as part of the Better Bike Share Partnership to support bike share and biking education.The Better Bike Share Partnership is funded by the JPB Foundation.
The Better Bike Share Partnership, The Office of Adult Education, the Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems, and the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia have teamed up to kick-off another year of Digital Skills and Bicycle Thrills (DSBT).
The Digital Skills and Bicycle Thrills is our program that helps individuals develop computer skills while also learning about bicycle safety and education. Thanks to this program, we have helped and interacted with dozens of amazing people from all around Philadelphia.

Last month we met Jonathan Fikru, a recent graduate of the program. Here’s what he had to say about the program!

“I had a roommate who saw a posting about the program so we did our research because we were so excited about it,” said Fikru. “It sounded exactly like what we needed. The program and the benefits seemed perfect for us.”

Fikru also shared that they didn’t really know that there was such a program like this or what exactly  bike share meant, seeing the Indego stations got his interest.

“I guess I don’t have history on bike riding in the city and thought this would strengthen my skills,” said Fikru, who shared that the program not only helped with his computer skills but also awareness to biking in the city.

“I realized that I didn’t know about the rules of biking until the class. I remember being hesitant because we were new to Philly and didn’t think that it was bike-friendly,” said Fikru. “I enjoyed the group ride because it was fun and there were so many people that I actually felt safe on the ride.”

Jonathan Fikru now works with Back On My Feet as the Member Service Coordinator.
Back on My Feet, is an national organization that combats homelessness through running and provides community support, employment and housing resources such as the DSBT program.

“I believe bike share is a good source of transportation for low-income communities,” he continues. “I think that being in so many spots is very accessible and beneficial because transportation could be a barrier for our members to get places.”

We will continue to create more programs like Digital Skills and Bicycle Thrills to help even more communities. Continue to check rideindego.com/classes for upcoming classes!