Pumped About the Future: My Commitment to Houston BCycle
I’ve served on the Houston BCycle board of directors for 5 years.
Maya Ford sitting on a Houston BCycle wearing a pollera, the traditional national costume of Panama.
It’s been enlightening, challenging, and sometimes confusing. Bike share as a utility is a novel concept for everyone in this region. Think about it.
Americans aren’t really pro-sharing kinda folks. We’re taught to work ourselves to death so that we can have our own. (That’s whack, by the way.)
Texans are overly car dependent. That topic is complex, but in Houston bikes are in an arm wrestling match with culture, economics, terrain, and policy.
I have the honor of becoming the incoming board chairwoman of the nation’s most dynamic bike share operator, and I am PUMPED! My leadership in this role represents a lot of key elements we need to be cognicent of. Follow me for a second as I walk you through some important things to consider.
A) Service to others isn’t about me, it’s about them. We’re a City of Houston chartered 501c3. We are the people’s bike share. I take this seriously and all the people must have safe, affordable access to various modes of EFFECTIVE transit. Full stop.
B) I am an authentic representative and reflection of marginalized communities. I am Afro-Latina, bi-national, and a single mother. I’m a current resident of an intentionally marginalized community as a bi-product of racist policies, inequitable distribution of public resources, and geographic value. If Houston wants a competitive labor force, it must do the right work to protect and cultivate a viable minimum standard for safe access to tools, resources, and rights in the 21C. Communities with people like me will not be placed as afterthoughts in the Houston BCycle environment; instead, these communities will be placed at the center of the prism for perspective and solutions. My standard for inclusion is not to replicate systems and processes that are built on exclusion. Anything less doesn’t honor our time or expertise. When you meet the folks at Houston BCycle, know that you’re meeting and dealing with excellence.
C) I value and invest in non-performative problem solving. Houston has all of the right elements for a healthy lifestyle: environmentally, economically, and socially. We’re the world’s largest medical center and should benefit from ground breaking proactive healthcare in our communities. BCycle supports this with leaders like Legacy Community Health. We will do more. People deserve logical options for transit within a 3 mile radius that don’t need a single occupancy vehicle. BCycle in neighborhoods can solve this, also offering opportunities for young people to get to jobs, friends and family. Seniors and people with disabilities can enjoy bicycling as a safe option for exercise, transportation and connectivity. For the first time we’ve got a tri-fecta of development: road infrastructure, increased public demand, and hybrid hardware (both acoustic and electric bikes). This is a special time to #GetItDone. We’re about the business of getting folks to where they want to go; including places where drama is acceptable like the Ensemble Theater or the Performing Arts District.
I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to be led and supported by true pioneers in this work. Neil Bremner (Bike Barn) and Michael Skelly (Grid United) have been most meaningful in giving birth to and raising BCycle over the past decade. Without their vision and invitation to practice something different, I am certain that I would still be looking at multi-modal transportation in an antiquated way. Also, I’d be missing out on some serious fun (something we all need more of). The future of the organization is still, and will always be, the folks that pump it up. Tools are only as useful as the people who use them allow, right?
I extend the same invitation to you that Neil and Michael offered me five years ago. Join me in practicing something different. Support Bryan Reed, our executive director, and his dynamic team in the revolution to making Houston the most diverse city in every way: ethnically, by talent, and via transportation access. When you see him and his team, give them a fist bump. When you see a board member, remind them of how they can serve you in your neighborhood. When you see a dope person who looks like they work with BCycle, ask them what their role is. If they tell you they don’t work with us, ask them “Why not?!” and send them my way. 😎
Let’s get pumped, Y’all.
Maya