Do you have a bike you no longer use? Do you need a bike for transportation? Welcome!
In Washington, DC, bicycles are essential transportation for many who need to get around during the coronavirus outbreak. This may include traveling to essential jobs, running crucial errands, or participating in mutual aid for vulnerable people who cannot leave their homes. BikeMatchDC is connecting people in DC who have an extra bicycle with people who need one. Whether you have a bike or need a bike, fill out the form below and we will match you.
UPDATE (Dec. 9, 2020): We are only able to accept applications from folks who have bikes at this time. We are working hard to find matches for those who have already submitted an application to be matched with a bike. Unfortunately, bikes are few and far between. If you already requested a bike, we appreciate your patience as we search for more bikes.
Ways to help:
- Sponsor all or part of a new bike from BicycleSPACE! Email BikeMatchDC for more details.
- Sponsor a set of rechargeable bike lights from our friends at Bike Lane Uprising. Click here for details.
- Help us thank Bikes for the World for their incredible support of BikeMatchDC by make a tax-deductible donation.
- Donate a bike (see guidelines below).
Guidelines
- Only offer bikes that are in ready-to-ride condition.
- If you are offering a bike, for sanitary purposes, clean the bike thoroughly before hand-off (handlebars, gear shifters, seat, etc) with soap and water or isopropyl alcohol.
- Both people offering and receiving bikes will be expected to participate in an outdoor, no-contact exchange in a public place observing physical distancing guidelines.
- If you have a fever or cough, or have been exposed to someone who has a fever or cough, please self-quarantine and refrain from participating.
- For sanitary purposes, all bike exchanges are permanent.
BikeMatchDC only has the bandwidth to make matches inside the Beltway. This includes Washington, D.C., Arlington and Alexandria, Va., and the inner suburbs of Montgomery and Prince Georges County, Md.
We are thrilled to be partners with Bikes for the World, a Rockville-based non-profit whose mission is to make affordable, good quality used bicycles available to low-income people in developing countries. During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, BFTW is providing bikes for essential workers closer to home.
Please reach out to BikeMatchDC if you have any questions.
If your bike to give needs a little TLC before it’s ready for a new home, please consider reaching out to a local bike shop to service it. Click here for a list of shops in DC and their operating status.
Want to know more? Here’s some recent news coverage of the program (we hope to share success stories soon!):
- NBC4: DC Bike Group Helps Essential Workers Get to Work
- DCist: Need Wheels? This New Program Lets Washingtonians Donate Bikes To Essential Workers
- PoPVille: “BikeMatchDC Helps Get Bikes To DC Area People Who Need Them”
- NBC4: Group Asking for Bicycle Donations for Health Care Workers
#BikeMatch programs are popping up all over the U.S. Here are links to the ones we know of:
- Transportation Alternatives/New York City
- Safe Lanes/San Francisco, Calif.
- GObike/Buffalo, N.Y.
- Bike Walk Macon/Macon, Ga.
- Bike Indianapolis/Indianapolis, Ind.
