Electro-Bici: Mobility Justice and Access to Public Transit

Public Transit

San Fernando Valley

Expand existing project, program, or initiative

The Electro-Bici program addresses two pressing issues in the Northeast San Fernando Valley: access to clean mobility options and economic recovery from COVID-19. The Northeast San Fernando Valley community suffers a lack of access to clean mobility options, close proximity to toxic facilities, and a need for diverse mobility options to access jobs. The COVID pandemic has magnified these inequities. Pacoima Beautiful led a transportation needs assessment in June 2020 that surveyed over 600 local residents, finding that most community members are dependent on public transport to access their jobs. It also identified a desire for more options for micro-mobility options in the community, as residents noticed the introduction of electric car and bike share programs that have been introduced in other parts of Los Angeles and used for recreation. There is a real interest in having innovative, safe, and affordable mobility options accessible to the Northeast San Fernando Valley community.?

Electro-Bici is offered to low-income participants, who are provided bicycles free of charge following training on their use, proper storage, bike safety, and charging of the bikes. Participants are also educated on best practices from bike libraries across the nation, mobility justice vision and values, small business development, and financial literacy. As the program grows, participation has been opened more broadly with an emphasis and priority for low-income members. Potential uses for the bikes include: -Long-term rental (6 to 12 months) for personal and professional use -E-Bikes (and especially E-Cargo Bikes) in workforce development programs -Youth programming activities -Bike and E-bike safety classes -Group rides for recreation and exploration of the community It is expected that participants will use the bikes for a range of purposes, from commuting to school or work, utilizing for delivery services, and completing daily errands. Initial participants check in with the project team regularly, and usage is tracked to inform program design. Bikes are stored at Pacoima Beautiful and are distributed at our facilities. In future years of the program, a more comprehensive network of community library sites will be developed, including the addition of charging stations throughout the community.

The primary goal of Electro-Bici is to provide an e-bike library that supports economic development in the NE San Fernando Valley. Participants serve as program ambassadors, promoting zero-emission micro-mobility as well as improving street safety. The project helps normalize electric bicycles in the streets of the Northeast San Fernando Valley opening the potential for more micro-mobility investment in the community.? Electro-Bici provides a transportation option that does not emit any contaminants into the air, and the use of 100 bicycles removes personal cars from the road. The success of this program will expand the range, accessibility, and comfort of zero-emissions micro-mobility options for local residents and help shift away from a heavily car-centric transportation culture. The program demonstrates the need for expanding bike infrastructure in an area where it is lacking and is at risk of losing existing bike infrastructure due to new transportation development projects.

The Electro-Bici program is currently in a pilot phase, with an initial fleet of 100 bicycles, and about one-third have been rented by local residents. Thus far, the primary challenge we are seeing is the need for cohort members to swap out batteries for their bikes, as due to proprietary components on the bikes that do not allow for at-home battery charging. We will measure success based on the number of rentals, length of rentals, and type of activities the bicycles are used for. We will also track challenges with the program so that we can continue to build infrastructure and address potential roadblocks to its expansion. Periodically, Pacoima Beautiful organizes group rides and events to build the visibility of the program and provide a space for participants to build familiarity and comfort with riding their bikes in this community. Our target audience for the program is working-age adults (aged 18-55) who live within the target area of the Northeast San Fernando Valley.