SANTA CRUZ, CA (BRAIN)—Santa Cruz Area Transportation Management Association’s Folding Bikes in Buses Incentive Program will provide rebates up to $200 to Santa Cruz residents towards the purchase of a folding bike.
“Folding bicycles are essential for encouraging more people to ride the bus,” said Piet Canin, deputy director of the Santa Cruz Transportation Management Association. “One of the main barriers to riding the bus is that many people live too far from the nearest bus station. Riding a bike would make it easier to get to the bus stop, but the problem is that most buses only have racks for three full-sized bikes. With folding bikes, we can get more bike riders on the bus for trips that may be too long or too steep for many bike commuters.”
One of the largest makers of folding bikes, Dahon, is working with area retailers on a mass mailing to raise awareness of the program. Dahon will design and provide the post cards for a mailing to Santa Cruz residents, in conjunction with local participating retailers. “This is a great program and a fantastic opportunity to support our dealers,” said Pete Molé, Dahon USA general manager.
The program is sponsored by the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission and funded by the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District.
All Santa Cruz County area residents are eligible for this program by attending a two-hour bicycle safety training class. For more information on this program, please visit http://www.santacruztma.org/folding_bike.htm. —Matt Wiebe
