Tailoring Bikeshare for Underserved Communities

Elizabeth Williams is an advocate for underserved populations, working to improve the lives of women and children who have experienced domestic violence at the Century Villages at Cabrillo, Long Beach. Three years ago, Williams partnered with the now-defunct Bike Hub to create an impromptu bike drive, giving 13 bikes to 13 women.

Now, Williams has partnered with ghost bikes advocate Danny Gamboa through the six-month Empact Long Beach program to create the first bike-share program for the Women’s Shelter of Long Beach (WSLB).

Gamboa approached the WSLB due to his previous work with the East Los Angeles Women's Shelter. Indeed, he shared with Addison how he "wanted the bike share program to go to a place where it’s most needed. I recently came back from D.C. where they have Capital Bikes—but you need a credit card or be a part of the program to rent them. We thought that a free bike share program can work on a small scale in a secured environment like the WSLB."

Gamboa and Williams are expanding the program to reach the Long Beach Public Library, creating a bikeshare program run through the library card check-out system.