Stimulus Bike

Share Your Stories

Share Your Story!
Do you have a story about your bike, your commute, your advocacy, or what you plan to use your stimulus money for? We will feature stories from time to time, so please email them (with a picture if possible) to [email protected] or leave a comment below.

Let me share mine:
From Andy in Ithaca, NY
If the ground is mostly dry in winter, I take the road racing bike. I bought this used for $600 in NH on Craigslist, having never ridden on a road bike before. I knew that I would be moving soon, and was looking for small cities that were relaively bike-friendly and easier to be car-free. I landed in Ithaca, NY, sold my car, and commute to work each day on this bike or an old mounain bike if the roads are bad. I like commuting by bike, but I feel like I need to just get out and ride occassionally so that I don't associate bikes with just commuting - since I find riding on weekends and a few weekdays very fun and rewarding.

I added aerobars so I can keep up with the cycling club I joined, waterbottle cages (who knows why it didn't come with these), and the rear light. I mount a headlight on the end of the looped aerobars, and strap the battery to the base of the aerobars for the occassional ride at night, and when even leaving work at 4:00pm was getting dark. My Garmin GPS can also mount on the end of the aerobars, which is great for mapping where I have been. The gearing is 52/40 by 11-23 which has made my legs much stronger from 800ft of climbing on my everyday! I could have gotten a bike with 3 chainrings, but this really keeps me fit, and I don't get much exercise other than cycling.

I plan on using my extra $500 of tax cuts towards upgrading parts on my bike. I've got a small list of "defferred maintenance" and a few extra parts I want to buy, such as new handlebar tape, a few new cables, and more cleaning products like soft brushes that can clean around brakes and gears better. This bike is 5 years old and still looking good (other than many small dings to the frame from locking it around town) and I hope to make it last many more years!

Support Stimulus Bike

Now that we have a new president, information about the stimulus plan and the tax act will be hitting the news more often and with much more depth as it progresses. Stimulus Bike will post all of the latest updates, straight from their sources. You can rely on us to translate the "legalese" documents into plain English so that you know exactly what to expect in the coming months.

Our website and blog are quickly growing, and we hope to grow even faster. You can subscribe to the blog feeds by clicking the orange RSS icon on the right, so that you get updates as soon as we post them. If you have friends, family, or co-workers that are interested in putting their stimulus tax cuts to good use, email them a link to the site!

Want to help out? Stimulus Bike is currently seeking a blog writer and an outreach coordinator. Email us at [email protected] if you are interested in volunteering your time. We are also accepting donations, in any amount, to pay for web hosting and upcoming features such as polls and email campaigns. You can donate by PayPal using this button.

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure LIVE Thursday 10am

Thursday, January 22 at 10:00am there is a live webcast of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Infrastructure Investment: Ensuring an Effective Economic Recovery Package
This hearing will "examine how infrastructure investment contributes to job creation and economic recovery. The hearing will address infrastructure across the Committee's jurisdiction, including highways, bridges, public transportation, rail, aviation, ports, waterways, wastewater treatment facilities, and Federal buildings." - according to their press release.

We're hoping for more talk on public transportation and less support for expanding our highways. Isn't Stimulus Bikes about cycling and not public transportation though? Well, it's a fact that when a city has more ways of getting around, that cycling becomes safer and more popular. For example, when cities can expand their bus service, they can also add bike racks on the front of the buses as they do in many cities. Some cities also allow a special lane for buses and bikes to share. This allows urban cyclists to get around by bike for shorter distances, and hop on the bus to get further or up hills. Teamwork!

The House's Transportation website has a button to click tomorrow at 10am to tune into the live webcast. Check it out here >>

Details on the "Making Work Pay" Tax Credit

American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009
Chairman Charles Rangel (D-NY) of the House Committee on Ways and Means has released details of the tax breaks and other benefits. This will be formally introduced within the next few days. Read what Chairman Rangel said about the benefits involved:

"The critical state of our economy calls for swift, comprehensive action and this package will provide relief to all communities and all sectors of the American economy. This recovery package will provide tremendous tax relief, health care and job training benefits for families struggling to make ends meet, while also giving businesses the boost they need to create new jobs. We have also designed specific provisions to help State and local governments fund critical infrastructure projects to improve our roads, schools, bridges and airports, while also maintaining and creating good-paying jobs for working families. This package was developed with strong coordination between the House and Senate leaders, President-elect Obama and his economic team. I look forward to working with all parties involved toward a swift passage."

The Specifics
You can download the 6 page Summary [PDF] or read the full text 328 page version if you are fluent in legalese. Download the full version here [PDF]. A portion of the tax relief summary is below:

TAX RELIEF INCLUDED IN "THE AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT PLAN"
Summary: The tax provisions included in "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan" will provide approximately $275 billion in tax relief for individuals, businesses, and State and local governments.
Making Work Pay" tax credit. The bill would cut taxes for more than 95% of working families in the United States. For 2009 and 2010, the bill would provide a refundable tax credit of up to $500 for working individuals and $1,000 for working families. This tax credit would be calculated at a rate of 6.2% of earned income, and would phase out for taxpayers with adjusted gross income in excess of $75,000 ($150,000 for married couples filing jointly). Taxpayers can receive this benefit through a reduction in the amount of income tax that is withheld from their paychecks, or through claiming the credit on their tax returns. This proposal is estimated to cost $145.309 billion over 10 years.

Free Bike Valet Parking at the Inauguration

Looking forward to the inauguration of our 44th president tomorrow? While most of us will be watching from home or work, the 2 million or so who are expected to see the inauguration in person will likely have a hard time getting into the city. That is, unless they have a bicycle tomorrow!

Most every road downtown will be closed, it will be nearly impossible to park anywhere in Washington, the buses and Metrorail will be packed even running on rush hour schedules from 4am to 9pm, but bikes are allowed to get even further on the roads and WABA is offering free bike valet parking - even if you have a trailer. Sometimes it pays to bike!

Quoted from the Washington Area Bicyclist Association:

WABA Offering Free Valet Bike Parking!

Thanks to the generous support of America Bikes, Dero Racks, The District Department of Transportation, and WABA members, WABA will be providing two bike valet stations at the Inaugural event. Just ride your bike to one of our free bike valet stations, hand the attendant your bike, and get a claim ticket with a number that matches the number on the ticket attached to your bike. Your bike remains safe with WABA's trusted attendants.

Read the official press release from WABA>>

Check out a map of security zones and bike routes>>

Visit WABA.org for all the details >>

A Draft of the Economic Stimulus Package Released

After much anticipation of finding out what the stimulus package may include, an official draft has been published at the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations [PDF]. This version estimates $275 billion in economic recovery tax cuts and $550 billion in priority investments. A much easier to read press summary is posted here [PDF]). Here are the highlights of transportation funding:

Modernize Roads, Bridges, Transit and Waterways To build a 21st century economy, we must engage contractors across the nation to create jobs - rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, modernizing public buildings, and putting people to work cleaning our air, water, and land. Highway Infrastructure: $30 billion for highway and bridge construction projects. It is estimated that states have over 5,100 projects totaling over $64 billion that could be awarded within 180 days. These projects create jobs in the short term while saving commuters time and money in the long term. In 2006, the Department of Transportation estimated $8.5 billion was needed to maintain current systems and $61.4 billion was needed to improve highways and bridges. Transit: Public transportation saves Americans time and money, saving as much as 4.2 billion gallons of gasoline and reducing carbon emissions by 37 million metric tons each year. [Earlier the article cites, "$10 billion for transit and rail to reduce traffic congestion and gas consumption."] New Construction: $1 billion for Capital Investment Grants for new commuter rail or other light rail systems to increase public use of mass transit and to speed projects already in construction. The Federal Transit Administration has $2.4 billion in pre-approved projects. Upgrades and Repair: $2 billion to modernize existing transit systems, including renovations to stations, security systems, computers, equipment, structures, signals, and communications. Funds will be distributed through the existing formula. The repair backlog is nearly $50 billion. Transit Capital Assistance: $6 billion to purchase buses and equipment needed to increase public transportation and improve intermodal and transit facilities. The Department of Transportation estimates a $3.2 billion maintenance backlog and $9.2 billion in needed improvements. The American Public Transportation Association identified 787 ready-to-go transit projects totaling $15.5 billion. Funds will be distributed through the existing formulas. Amtrak and Intercity Passenger Rail Construction Grants: $1.1 billion to improve the speed and capacity of intercity passenger rail service. The Department of Transportation's Inspector General estimates the North East Corridor alone has a backlog of over $10 billion.

The tax cuts will hopefully allow Americans to spend their share on useful goods and services, and what better to put that towards than biking! The funding for other transportation projects looks bleak though - mainly calling for more highways, which is exactly the opposite of what we need. America is slowly growing in transportation options, and many people are living with less cars or at least hoping to. How about some funding for cycling projects that cities desperately need?

Now Featuring Petitions

We are now featuring three petitions. These are from other websites, and are not run by Stimulus Bike. You can read a very brief overview below, or click over to the Sign Petitions page for more detail and new petitions.

The Environmental Defense Fund has a petition to send messages to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Harry Reid urging them to support a smart stimulus package for environmentally sustainable projects to be funded instead of throwing money at highways.

Rails-To-Trails Conservancy has a petition to President-elect Obama encouraging our stimulus funds to provide bicycle and pedestrian friendly projects in a cost-effective manner.

Lastly, Transportation For America calls for President-elect Obama to make smart transportation investments to "strengthen our economy, create jobs, reduce our dependence on oil, and make it easier for Americans to find the money to meet their growing transportation needs."

If you know of other petitions about bicycling, the stimulus package, or other government spending, leave a comment or contact us at [email protected] and they will be added to our petition page.   

Two Takes on the Stimulus Plan

While it is apparent that Democrats and Republicans both want to see a stimulus package, they disagree on where those funds should go, what they should support, and to what extent. Three recently quotes illustrate this very well.

Earl Blumenauer, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon's 3rd district and founder of the 180-member Congressional Bicycle Caucus has this to say about cyclists:

“They are burning calories, not fossil fuel, they are taking up much less space, they are seeing the world at 10 miles per hour instead of 20 or 30... And even though there are occasionally cranky or rude cyclists, they are no greater a percentage than cranky or rude motorists.”

Another democrat and chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Representative James L. Oberstar of Minnesota, chimed in saying, "[Advocates] have compiled a list of $2 billion of projects that can be under construction in 90 days." This shows that not only is bicycle infrastructure important to these politicians, but they can show that funding these projects can make an impact in the near future.

On the other side of the matter is House Minority Leader John Boehner, a republican from Ohio:

“I think there’s a place for infrastructure, but what kind of infrastructure? Infrastructure to widen highways, to ease congestion for American families? Is it to build some buildings that are necessary? ... But if we’re talking about beautification projects, or we’re talking about bike paths, Americans are not going to look very kindly on this.”

Boehner shows how oblivious Americans in power can be to true solutions. Like many, he makes the impression that cycling is for recreation only, and not worth mentioning for commuting, errands, or other useful reasons for transportation.

As the cost of vehicle ownership becomes a greater burden for Americans, we are going to need real solutions to our transportation problems. Maybe a politician would benefit from wider highways, but does the typical American? Studies have shown that the more lanes we add, the more traffic will fill them resulting in the same level of congestion - except then the infrastructure costs are even higher than before.

Sources: CBS’s "Face the Nation" and The New York Times

Republicans Want a Smaller Stimulus

Some republicans are pushing for a smaller stimulus package around $500 billion instead of Obama's current estimate of approximately $775 billion. Obama is still pushing to have this in place by mid-February, but if republicans aren't willing to vote yay for the initial package, it may goback to the drawing board change size. It is still very uncertain exactly when details will become available on how much money will be used, who is able to use it, and how fast this could all be available. I will post updates to the blog as soon as I know. You can add this blog to your RSS feeds by using this link: http://stimulusbike.typepad.com/stimulus_bike/rss.xml.

For the new viewers, welcome! Stimulus Bike is a growing resource that will expand as more information about the stimulus package and our economy is available. Click around and see some of the great resources available on this site, and take a minute to make the pledge. I will be adding petitions later this week. If you have any comments or suggestions, please leave them below or email us at [email protected]. And thanks for stopping by!

Thank you to the blogs who mentioned or featured Stimulus Bike recently:
Bike Commute Tips Blog on 01/11/09
Bike Commuters Blog on 01/12/09

Obama to speak live today

President-elect Barack Obama plans to speak live from George Mason University in Virginia today at 11:00 am eastern about his "American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan." You can watch it live from CNN and CNN.com.

Update: Obama's speech today included much of what his aides have been releasing to this date. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan looks to be very broad and should help businesses, middle-class workers, infrastructure, schools, internet access, and computerized medical records. Obama confirmed a $1,000 tax cuts for 95% of families, but did not have any additional details. At the earliest, this plan could be approved in mid-February with the funds being used within a few months later.