The Bike Exchange is an
exchange-based bike donation program
On November 16, the Bike Exchange event processed 70 bikes through donation and refurbishing to be given away to 3 communities across Santa Cruz.
Introduction
What is the Bike Exchange?
The Bike Exchange is a program designed to facilitate the donation, refurbishing, and distribution of used bicycles. The program coordinates a collection of local partnerships who participate in mutually beneficial exchange. The Bike Exchange was designed by Taylor Lahey, a community organizer inspired by exchange programs.
The Bike Exchange proof-of-concept event was organized by Taylor and took place on November 16, 2024.
About the Report
This report documents the Bike Exchange Program design and proof-of-concept event held in Santa Cruz, CA on November 16, 2024. The results and the insights discovered through the process will be shared and discussed in this report.
Assets for the Bike Exchange event have been preserved and are available for community organizers interested in running a bike exchange. Additionally, the report features tips for community organizers that share additional insights from a community organizer perspective.
Tip
Tips for community organizers seeking to run a Bike Exchange event will be offered in boxes like these!
Why Bikes?
Bikes are an asset that offer recreation, exercise, and sustainable transportation. As a bike owner’s lifestyle changes, bikes are rendered unused, cluttering households, bikes can instead benefit the community by being donated to new owners.
Santa Cruz is where Taylor lives, as well as an ideal community for a bike exchange. In Santa Cruz, individuals proudly identify with bike culture and the community already encourages a city bike share and riding bicycles as viable transportation.
Tip
Bike culture and bicycle-friendly governance were helpful factors that made the Bike Exchange event in Santa Cruz successful. For community organizers, gauge existing bike culture prevalence to determine whether it will help a Bike Exchange will be a welcomed success!
Why Exchange?
Exchange programs with incentivized rewards are designed to benefit each participant and their respective communities. An exchange cultivates community and goodwill that common linear donation schemas may neglect or miss entirely. Traditional donation processes leave participants empty handed, while exchanges give back to its participants, which stimulates future participation and shared purpose and connection .
The primary inspiration of the bike exchange was the Câmbio Verde program of Curitiba, Brazil. Undeveloped, narrow streets precluded garbage trucks from servicing many parts of Curitiba, and so the city established Câmbio Verde, an exchange program incentivizing trash pick-up in exchange for bus tokens.
Inspired by Câmbio Verde, Taylor designed the Bike Exchange, in part modeled after the Curitiban exchange, to fit his community’s interests, resources, and identity.
Taylor believes exchange-based programs are a major driver of improving community well-being. By organizing the Bike Exchange in Santa Cruz, his hope was for his community to receive benefits of participating in community exchange.
Program Design
The Bike Exchange is a program designed to facilitate the donation, refurbishing, and distribution of used bicycles. The program coordinates a collection of local partnerships who participate in mutually beneficial exchange. The Bike Exchange was designed by Taylor Lahey, a community organizer inspired by exchange programs.
The Bike Exchange proof-of-concept event was organized by Taylor and took place on November 16, 2024.
About the Report
This report documents the Bike Exchange Program design and proof-of-concept event held in Santa Cruz, CA on November 16, 2024. The results and the insights discovered through the process will be shared and discussed in this report.
Assets for the Bike Exchange event have been preserved and are available for community organizers interested in running a bike exchange. Additionally, the report features tips for community organizers that share additional insights from a community organizer perspective.
Proof-of-concept Event
The Bike Exchange is a program designed to facilitate the donation, refurbishing, and distribution of used bicycles. The program coordinates a collection of local partnerships who participate in mutually beneficial exchange. The Bike Exchange was designed by Taylor Lahey, a community organizer inspired by exchange programs.
The Bike Exchange proof-of-concept event was organized by Taylor and took place on November 16, 2024.
About the Report
This report documents the Bike Exchange Program design and proof-of-concept event held in Santa Cruz, CA on November 16, 2024. The results and the insights discovered through the process will be shared and discussed in this report.
Assets for the Bike Exchange event have been preserved and are available for community organizers interested in running a bike exchange. Additionally, the report features tips for community organizers that share additional insights from a community organizer perspective.
5. Results
6. Learnings & Insights
7. Conclusion
Press Inquires
Contact Taylor Lahey at hello@taylorlahey.com
Want to host a Bike Exchange?
Are you a community hub, municipality, non-profit, or neighborhood leader that wants to bring the Bike Exchange to your community? Let’s connect!