Capital Bikeshare Equity Forum

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• published: 01 May 2015
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This video documents a panel discussion on April 21st, 2014 with fellow Capital Bikeshare members, union advocates, transportation advocates, and community members to discuss the past, present, and future of Capital Bikeshare. Panelists included: • Kevin Williams, a current Capital Bikeshare/Motivate employee and TWU Local 100 member, working as a rebalancer. • Nick Bedell, the lead organizer for TWU Local 100's bikeshare efforts • Chris Townsend, Director of Field Mobilization for Amalgamated Transit Union • Katie Monroe, Better Bike Share Outreach Manager, Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia • Carol Tyson, local disability/transportation equity advocate The forum was hosted by TWU Local 100, moderated by TWU Local 100 member Elliott Caldwell and co-sponsored by: ATU Local 689 DC Jobs with Justice ONE DC As Capital Bikeshare passed the mid-point of its 4th year of operation, institutes its first-ever rate hike and witnesses significant changes in the company that manages the system, we (CaBi members, employees and concerned community members) felt that it was a good time to evaluate its effect and contribution to our city and metropolitan area. • Why is Capital Bikeshare raising its rates and where is the money actually going? • Has Capital Bikeshare developed into a true transit option for area residents? • Have our public dollars been well spent on the hardware and management of the system? •Can we re-imagine Capital Bikeshare as a real public transportation system? • What can public officials be doing to ensure that the needs, desires and priorities of residents—including employees of Capital Bikeshare—are given great weight in the planning and operation of the system? • Is contracting with a private corporation the best way to ensure the responsible stewardship of a public good? • What do we know about the new owners of the company that runs Capital Bikeshare and what are their likely motivations in bailing out the previous owners? Capital Bikeshare has a new "boss" in a group of investors who dug into their deep pockets to bail out the financially troubled Alta Bicycle Share, the private company that operates Capital Bikeshare along with 9 other municipal bikeshare systems. In the process, they rebranded the company as “Motivate”. The group of investors participate in a family of other ventures, including Equinox (a high-end fitness and lifestyle brand, which also operates Soul Cycle) and Related Companies (one of the nation’s wealthiest real estate investment firms). Since the purchase, Motivate has been aggressively anti-union; bikeshare workers in four major systems (New York, Boston, Chicago, and DC) all voted to join Transport Workers Union Local 100 despite intense opposition from the owners of Motivate.