PHILADELPHIA (BRAIN) — The City of Philadelphia, celebrating the one-year anniversary of its Indego bike share program, this week is hosting the first national conference on bike sharing.
The Better Bike Share Conference, being held Wednesday through Friday, brings together system operators, city transportation officials, social justice advocates, and partners from across the nation to discuss how bike share programs fit in the context of broader community needs, such as access to jobs, better health and reducing violence.
The event is a collaboration of the city, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, the National Association of City Transportation Officials, and PeopleForBikes. The conference and the organizing coalition, known as the Better Bike Share Partnership, are made possible through a grant from The JPB Foundation.
Mayor Jim Kenney will kick off the first full day of sessions on Thursday. The featured speaker, Tamika Butler, is the executive director of the Los Angeles Bicycle Coalition. Other nationally-recognized speakers include transportation department representatives from Philadelphia, New York City, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., and partners from the following bike share cities: New York, Los Angeles, Austin, Chicago, and Boston. They are among the more than 30 speakers and presenters who will address the conference.
