BRUSSELS (BRAIN) — The World Bicycle Industry Association is asking all countries to allow bike repair services to continue through the COVID-19 pandemic.
The WBIA represents bike, e-bike and P&A suppliers worldwide; its member associations include PeopleForBikes in the U.S. and trade groups in India, Japan, Europe, Mexico, Russia and Taiwan, all of whom signed the public statement.
"In the context of the spread of COVID-19 worldwide, the use of bicycles and pedal-assisted e-bikes — always with total respect for official public health protection rules — should be encouraged," the statement read in part.
"On bicycles, people keep the required distance for avoiding infections. They are also much less likely to touch potentially contaminated objects in public space. To minimize the risk of infection, German Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn therefore mentioned cycling to work as one of his recommendations to the population. On a more general note, regular physical activity like cycling helps to keep the cardiovascular system and the lungs healthy, preventing diseases and protecting the body from infections. Therefore, it is important that people can continue cycling throughout the crisis and are able to find help in case they need to have their bike repaired," it said.
PeopleForBikes' president Tim Blumenthal said, "PeopleForBikes recognizes the unprecedented challenge local, state and federal governments face in managing the spread of COVID-19. Our organization is working to support the bicycle industry in this difficult time by asking governments to consider every bike shop as an 'essential business' and to allow bicycling, for transportation or recreation, to continue where appropriate. These decisions will provide many levels of economic relief to businesses. We are encouraged by the number of news stories we've read that address the increasingly significant and positive role bikes are playing in our daily lives. Many people are newly discovering how bikes are a great way to get where you need to go and also a wonderful form of recreation. As this occurs, we are doing everything we can to support all riders as well as bike businesses of all sizes and kinds."
