Bike Path Program
Bike Path provides formerly incarcerated and justice-involved New Yorkers with the skills they need to become bike mechanics through a five-week, 60-hour training program. Upon completing the program, all graduates then interview with Motivate for bike mechanic positions to maintain the Citi-Bike fleets across NYC. This year, for the first time, our students are learning how to maintain electric Citi Bikes, as well as standard ones. The standard bike that trainees learn how to maintain & fix are ultimately theirs to keep as well. Since its inception, 39 graduates were hired in 2020; 37 in 2021; 67 in 2022; and so far close to 60 are expected to graduate this year.
Bike New York partners on this program with One Community, a local community-based organization serving the Fort Greene/Clinton Hill neighborhood, who’s responsible for recruiting the candidates. As the program continues to expand, it’s likely that Bike New York will also partner with larger, citywide organizations whose mission is to support reentry from incarceration and to recruit and support the needs of our students throughout the process.