The Better Bike Share Partnership (BBSP) is an effort led by the City of Philadelphia that works to ensure that Indego is accessible to all Philadelphians. The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia is a non-profit advocacy and education organization working as part of the Better Bike Share Partnership to support bike share and biking education.  BBSP is funded by the JPB Foundation, which seeks to create a socially equitable and replicable bike share model for Philadelphia and beyond.

The City of Philadelphia, Indego, and the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia welcomed delegations of city officials and community organizers from five cities to Philadelphia for a study tour. The goal? Fostering conversation about what it takes to build equitable and inclusive bike share systems.

Indego has been around for less than a year, but our work with the Better Bike Share Partnership has ensured we have a lot to contribute to this conversation. Visiting cities included Atlanta, Los Angeles, Memphis, Detroit, and Baltimore — all cities that are looking to launch bike share in the next year.

Study tour participants had a whirlwind visit: they heard presentations from previous Indego Community Ambassadors Anton Moore and Keola Harrington, learned about Indego’s cash membership option, discussed data collected by Temple University’s Institute for Survey Research, visited Indego partners Neighborhood Bike Works and the Dornsife Center Neighborhood Partnerships, learned about Indego’s commitment to inclusive marketing strategies, and more.

Reactions
“I came from Memphis with an expectation to be a voice for grassroots cyclists with emphasis on Memphis. While in Philadelphia I engaged in conversations with likeminded people from many organizations and diverse backgrounds, ages, races, and motives. I was pleasantly surprised by the proactive approach Memphis has taken and reassured after hearing from peer cities we are on the right path towards bike share rider equity. The Philadelphia delegation was excellent in their hosting and presenting of topics with great passion and transparency of best practices and potential barriers. The Philadelphia approach to cash users and Community Ambassadors are impressive to say the least and the testimonies by two Ambassadors put a human element to the impact of inclusion. Bike Share equity has become an issue no one can avoid and the meeting in Philly gave a platform that should lead to best practices,” said Dwayne A. Jones from Memphis, Tennessee (Orange Mound).

“The City of Philadelphia is proud of the way we’ve prioritized social equity in developing the Indego program, but there is always more to learn and do. The study tour was a great chance for us to share what we’ve done, and to hear from our peers across the country, ” said Cara Ferrentino from the City of Philadelphia.

Next steps

We look forward to seeing how Atlanta, Los Angeles, Memphis, Detroit, and Baltimore incorporate lessons learned and ideas shared on this study tour into their systems as they get up and running the next year or so – best of luck!