Transportation Event Case Study
Bike to Work Week
Purpose of the Event
Bike to Work Week is a week-long festival of bicycle transportation
and bicycle culture. Its title is a little misleading; since
the beginning it has included more than just cycling to work.
It was originally modelled after Boulder, Colorado's Bike
To Work Day, and then Toronto's Bike To Work Day in 1989.
Bike To Work Week (BTWW) has been happening in Toronto since
1990.
Of course, holding a Bike To Work Week doesn't mean you're
only supposed to use bicycle transportation for one out of
52 weeks each year. It was created as a public and media focus
on the bicycle as a viable, economical, pleasurable, convivial,
community building, and ecological form of transportation.
But BTWW isn't just for hype.
Over the years, it's many functions have come to include:
 |
getting people on bikes |
|
public hype about and focus
on bicycle transportation |
|
media hype about and focus
on bicycle transportation |
|
a forum for discussion and
interchange about the barriers to bicycle transportation |
|
a forum for success stories
and concrete examples of ways to overcome the barriers
to bicycle commuting |
|
a forum for free workshops,
repair clinics, safety clinics, and other activities that
make it easier to cycle |
|
a forum for bike-related artistic
expression |
|
a forum for launching new
bicycle friendly projects |
|
a forum for launching new
bicycle friendly businesses and job creation |
|
a chance for civic involvement
and dialogue with decision makers on bicycle transportation
policies, programs, and amenities |
|
a focus for community groups,
businesses, corporations and government agencies to integrate
bicycle transportation into their activities. |
|
a forum for recognising, rewarding
and celebrating people, businesses, and agencies that
have worked hard to contribute to bettering bicycle transportation |
|
a chance for volunteers to
develop skills related to bicycle transportation |
|
a chance to link the benefits
of bicycle transportation with the good work of other
ecological and social groups. |
|
a positive and informal occasion
for cyclists from all walks of life to meet each other |
|
and many others ... |
Types of events hosted during BTWW have included:
|
Breakfasts |
|
Rides |
|
Repair Clinics |
|
Film Nights |
|
Bike Art Auctions |
|
Political Deputations |
|
Helmet Sales |
|
Bike Safety demonstrations |
|
Bike Fashion Shows |
|
Bike Culture day |
|
Bike Friendly Business Awards |
|
Corporate Challenges (where
companies or groups challenge each other to bring in the
most cyclists) |
|
Bike Comedy |
|
Bike Lane Leafletting |
|
Issue Forums |
|
Massage workshops |
|
Bike Dance |
|
Bike Choir performances |
|
Project launches |
|
Bike Races (between police,
couriers, fire fighters, or between bikes, cars, and transit) |
|
Parties |
|
Information seminars |
|
Road openings |
|
And endless other possibilities |
Organizing and Planning
BTWW belongs to the cyclists and future cyclists of Toronto.
It is co-ordinated and promoted by the City of Toronto through
the Toronto City Cycling Committee (TCCC). For the most part,
the TCCC organizes a couple of key events, including the opening
mass ride and the opening pancake breakfast. Beyond that,
the TCCC just co-ordinates and promotes the other events of
the week. The individual events are funded and organized by
participating corporations and community groups. BTWW has
evolved to the point where financial and in-kind community
and corporate contribution amounts to several times the financial
contribution made by the City. This doesn't even count the
vast number of volunteer hours and the cash value of the extensive
media coverage BTWW attracts.
During the first year of BTWW it was a lot of work to convince
groups and companies to become involved. Some companies didn't
want to be seen promoting a form of transportation they thought
could be considered unsafe, even though many of them provided
free car parking and other car-related perks. Nevertheless,
the organizers and volunteers persisted, and BTWW has flourished
and grown each year.
Changes in the project
Each year, BTWW's "to work" portion shrinks as
all the other elements grow. And more and more cities take
on BTWW. 1996 is the first year of a province wide BTWW, and
one day, perhaps there will be a Canada wide, or North America
wide BTWW.
BTWW also seems to stretch each year, to the point where
it's really Bike To Work Ten Days. There has been talk of
having "summer of the bike" or "bike to work
year" - an bit of an exhausting concept from an organizer's
point of view.
by Sue Zielinski
|
