Low Cost Red Bikes Helps Low Income Area with Transportation Needs
Red Bike one a kiosk based bike rental service has teamed up with the Cincinnati CityLink Center which offers services to low income families to bring a discounted program to the area surrounding the center. An annual Red Bike membership is already cheaper than a monthly membership to the Metro bus pass, but with partnership at the CityLink center qualifying applicants can get an annual Red Bike membership for just $5.00, that's instead of the regular price of $80.00. My thought is that offering a low cost transportation solution to low income areas s a good idea because the bikes are cheaper than a bus pass, or ownership of a car. Also in low income neighborhoods many people might be hesitant to own there own bikes because the chance of theft, while with the Red Bike the bikes are easily identifiable in case of theft. This takes cars off the roadway improves and could lead to improved community communication and iteration, and also to the chance of changing the modal transportation needs of the area. Thinking broader than transportation the health benefits of transferring people to a non workout based transport to a workout based one such as biking will bring the healthcare costs of the community down over time. Also this community is very low income and has a high number of people going hungry, but also in these communities usually there is a high consumption of non-nutritious foods which effects there health in a negative way. Saving money on transport and increasing health through biking could jump start the area to flourish.
LINK TO ARTICLE ON WEBSITE OF WPCO NEWS CINCINNATI, OH
I think this is a great idea and I agree that the positive impacts you mentioned could very well take place in a city. However, my thought is perhaps by introducing a shared bike system at an affordable price for low-income individuals to mitigate traffic and offset health costs to a community, isn't that simple. I'd be concerned that perhaps by increasing cyclist ridership without the necessary road infrastructure to sustain more cyclist, there could be an extreme concern for safety... which actually would contradict the idea that the health cost of the community could improve. If proper measures are not taken to maintain the safety of cyclists on the road, injuries could be at risk. Also, if these bikes are being marketed towards low-income individuals who already don't own vehicles, then I'm not sure how successful this program would be in "taking cars off the road". Additionally, by marketing this service to low-income individuals (by way of social stereotypes), the social class of vehicle-owning individuals may be deterred from using this service.
ReplyDeleteNot only does this system provide an economic solution to low income families, but it also reduces the traffic fatalities as well. Low income areas have more traffic fatalities due to automobiles. If this becomes a large phenomenon to use red bikes it could lead to lesser usage of cars as they are more cost appealing. The downside is that people may be willing to pay more to use a car rather than doing physical work of biking place to place. Elizabeth makes a good point of the social aspect of using this bike, where people prefer not to be seen using this bike as it represents their income level.
ReplyDeleteNot only does this system provide an economic solution to low income families, but it also reduces the traffic fatalities as well. Low income areas have more traffic fatalities due to automobiles. If this becomes a large phenomenon to use red bikes it could lead to lesser usage of cars as they are more cost appealing. The downside is that people may be willing to pay more to use a car rather than doing physical work of biking place to place. Elizabeth makes a good point of the social aspect of using this bike, where people prefer not to be seen using this bike as it represents their income level.
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