The City of West Hollywood is launching its Bike Giveaway Pilot Program. The program will be giving away 50 bicycles in collaboration with Schwinn to encourage more bicycling and less driving among West Hollywood residents to further the City’s climate action goals.
The City has opened an application portal with program details at www.weho.org/bikegiveaway. West Hollywood residents who are 18 years or older are eligible to apply for a free bike as part of the Pilot Program. The City will collect applications during the next few weeks and is anticipated to select 50 individual recipients in February 2023 through a random lottery.
Residents selected to receive a free bicycle will agree to commit to riding a minimum number of 20 miles per month and will complete monthly reports with odometer readings. In addition, participants will need to complete a survey before receiving a Bike Giveaway Pilot Program bicycle. Full participation in the program is required for residents to keep bicycles for the long-term.
By getting people out of cars and onto bikes, the Pilot Program aims at supporting multi-modal transportation to reduce citywide vehicle miles traveled while supporting the City’s Core Value of Responsibility for the Environment. In West Hollywood, passenger vehicles and trucks contribute to roughly 1-million average vehicles miles traveled, resulting in more than 62,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. Choosing a bicycle over a car just once-a-day can lead to an up-to-67% reduction in transportation emissions. As a result, by providing people with bicycles and the option to bike instead of drive, the Bike Giveaway Pilot Program is a great tool to reduce emissions from vehicle miles traveled.
There are many ways to explore West Hollywood without a car. By foot, by bike, or by transit, navigating West Hollywood car-free has never been easier. Going car-free creates new opportunities to run into friends and meet new ones, enjoy fresh air on a beautiful day, see places you never noticed before, and get some exercise along the way.
The City of West Hollywood is committed to supporting multi-modal transportation options and promoting West Hollywood as a walkable and bikeable place. In 2017, the City of West Hollywood adopted its Pedestrian and Bicycle Mobility Plan, which provides a roadmap to improving the City’s pedestrian and bicycle environment. The PBMP identifies several categories of projects including improvements at unsignalized crosswalks, signalized intersections, and bicycle improvements.
