Launch of the Toronto Cyclists Union

[joe]

The Toronto Cyclists Union launched yesterday morning...

(although whoever is running their website is asleep at the switch, because as of right now, 24 hours later, it hasn't been updated from the "coming soon" messages - that doesn't bode well for the future operation of the site...)

What do you think of the Bike Union? Their plan is to be a unified voice for cyclists at City Hall. Can they make a difference?

Here are some recent news articles about it and their launch yesterday:

Cyclists get in gear to speak with a unified voice
"There's an attitude shift taking place as gas prices go up," Mr. Heaps said. Biking can be faster than travelling by car, and suburban commuters can combine cycling with public transit to avoid rush-hour frustrations...


A true bicycle culture remains elusive
Mass movements tend not to be engendered by death-defying activity. "You don't buy a car if there's no roads," grumbles Adrian Heaps. "You don't ride a bike if there's no infrastructure for it. And we don't have anywhere near enough."

Cycling's union movement
The union aims to hold city councillors, many of whom may be surprised at how many cyclists they have in their wards, accountable. "We've got this incredible bike plan that council passed in 2001– it's visionary," says Yvonne Bambrick...

[Tory]

Why does it cost money to join? Can I not just volunteer to help promote cycling? Why do I have to spend money to promote cycling?

I'm a student, on summer break without a job. I have very little money, but, I do have lots of free time that I am will to spend on cycling.

[joe]

That's a good question bonfire... and I don't really know that answer.

Other than being part of a unified group that will present a united message at City Hall on behalf of cyclists - I can't really see what the $24/year membership gets you, atleast in the early days.

Their "benefits" page (which really should be linked from their "join" page...) reads:

Toronto's first member-funded, city-wide advocacy group offers you:

* All over the city, bike advocates working for you
* Information on bike issues to improve your ride
* Social rides, events, and parties
* A regular newsletter, with lots of information to help you enjoy cycling in Toronto even more.
* Bike travel information
* Lock removal program
* Discounts at bike shops
* Voting rights at the annual general meeting

I would expect that this list will grow with time, as most of these benefits are already available in other places.

[Tory]

truuuee, it isn't too much.. I'm just a cheap a--... ha. And it is for an entire year...

But, I think I will continue to show my support for biking in other ways instead.

If it were rephrased to "donate $24 to help cycling in the city" I think I would be more inclined to spend the money.

But, I'd want the list of benefits to be


* All over the city, bike advocates working for you


that's it. I'm pretty sure. You, your facebook groups, your website, your "fake" profile (:P) already covers a lot of that info :)

and social rides don't need to cost money, ie the wednesday night one every week or even CM just to name two.


don't get me wrong though... This union seems to have great intentions, I'm just a bit concerned where the money is going.

[Anthony]

The board and the exeuctive of the Union thought long and hard about this. One of the many reasons that we are charging to become a member is because our membershp cards will us to produce and wil get you discounts at most bike stores. I recently bought a bike trailer and my membership was paid back from the savings from that one purchace.

Another reason is that people who have committed thier money to a cause hold more weight than those who ally themselves with it by association. When the union speaks at city hall it speaks on behalf of a membership that paid money, that made a commitement with dollars. We need not charge a lot to make this have meaning.

The other reason is that groups that are both effective and that have staying power in other cities do so because they are able to hire staff. To have staff means someone is getting paid. Most of the real work is still done by volunteers, but some of the les glamourus stuff that just needs to get done is done by paid staff. We need to collect some money at least if we want to have a hope of being able to afford staff.

Some cycling advocacy groups in cities in the US charge a minimum of $100/year and have very high membership rates. the Union did not feel comfortable pricing in this way for the first years, perhaps the union will, but that will besmething that the board and executive will look at each year.

There are many other great cycling groups in the city that you can volunteer for that don't cost money to join. Bike Pirates, CBN, TCAT to name but three. The cycling blog s also don't have any membership charges and any expences for the cost of running these are paid by the hosts out of thier own pockets, although Joe does run some ads to offset his costs.

No one will make you join the Union, it is your choice. Many of us feel that by joining the union and getting its membership count up we are showing the city that we care enough about cycling here to both pay for it, and to be counted. Others would never join a group whose job is to get the city to do what it has already said it would do (if the city was doing it, we wouldn't need the union, would we?)

As a volunteer and member of the Union it is my hope that you will join us. We could use all types of help that could fill some of your free time.

[joe]

Cool... I was hoping you would contribute to this thread Anthony.

Great reasons to join (especially the bike store discount thing)... can I suggest that you ask your website people to provide a link to the benefits page from the join page (or even better, list the benefits ON the join page?). It takes a little bit of exploring to find the benefits currently, and while your "join" link is prevalent, the benefits are not... so a casual visitor to the site is not going to know about the benefits.

[Anthony]

Done. The executive team now knows about this, and will improve things as thier time permits.

[Tory]

thanks for the info :)

[chris]

I'm excited about the potential for change that a cyclists union can present... but if you are going to charge fees and operate as a union I need tangible benefits.

[Todd Tyrtle]

One question I have is that as much as the union is trying to be inclusive of families, there really is no "family membership" option. Any other organization in the city whether it is the zoo, museums, or amusement parks recognize the fact that paying for multiple memberships for a family of 4-6 or more could get pricey and offer a discounted membership that could be inclusive of the entire family. Does anyone know if anything like this is has been discussed?

[Anthony]

What other kinds of tangible beneifts would you like? What kind of time can you offer to volunteer to make that happen?

[Anthony]

I concur, and this is something that we're still trying to wrap our heads around. Perhaps for next year we'll have a better membership program. We love to have your help with this.

[Todd Tyrtle]

Cool! I'm in Quebec City now but it looks almost definite that I'll be back in Toronto for a while after the 25th of July. I have lots of interest and am really looking forward to getting involved!