BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — PeopleForBikes will shut down the Ride Spot mobile app after nearly five years on Feb. 29 to devote resources to its infrastructure project and advocating for better policy.
"We looked at the costs and resources needed to maintain and improve Ride Spot and take it to the next level," said Jose Maldonado, PeopleForBikes' chief marketing officer. "We evaluated those against the potential benefits and the opportunity costs of not doing other things. There is no question that the success of The Great Bike Infrastructure Project is essential to our objectives and core to our long-term vision. This is where we will be the most effective for our industry and where we will focus our efforts."
PeopleForBikes announced The Great Bike Infrastructure Project last July following Congress passing a $13 billion in federal funding for bike and pedestrian infrastructure projects over five years. The PFB project features an interactive map and list of thousands of U.S. bike infrastructure projects, tracking type status, and local advocacy support.
PeopleForBikes also offers legislative strategies to assist policymakers and advocates to improve and expand recreational and transportation bike infrastructure.
"More people are riding bikes than ever before," Maldonado said. "To keep participation high, we need more safe, connected places for them to ride. The way we're going to move the needle is through our infrastructure work."
When Ride Spot was unveiled after two years and more than a $1 million in development at the April 2019 Bicycle Leadership Conference, it was hailed as a way to get people using available infrastructure.
Or, as then PeopleForBikes President Tim Blumenthal told BRAIN for a June 13, 2019, story, "Some people think we're just about infrastructure, but we are also about getting people out and using that infrastructure."
Ride Spot offers routes in each community that are chosen by local bike retailers and other organizations. It was designed to provide beginners a guide to cycling while helping retailers establish relationships with those riders, especially ones who have purchased a bike.
In an email to Ride Spot users, PeopleForBikes wrote that since Ride Spot began "it grew to be a resource for thousands of people to discover routes, riding challenges, and community. It's been a wonderful ride and we are proud of what we accomplished together."
