Cambridge’s Resident Refurbished Bike Program Uses ARPA Funds to Provide Bicycles to Income-Qualified Residents

The City of Cambridge and Cambridge Bike Give Back today announced the launch of the Resident Refurbished Bike Program which will provide refurbished bicycles to income-qualified Cambridge residents.

Cambridge Bike Give Back (CBGB), a local nonprofit, was founded in 2021. The organization serves the community by providing free bikes to kids and adults who need them. CBGB receives donated bikes, refurbishes them, and gives them away for free. In addition to refurbishing bikes, CGBG also educates children and adults about the health benefits of biking and is committed to addressing social and inequities in access to bicycle equipment.

"In response to the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement, we founded Cambridge Bike Give Back to empower our community through increased mobility and access,” said Lonnell Roberts-Wells, Founder of Cambridge Bike Give Back.

The City of Cambridge Community Development Department (CDD) has partnered with CBGB to expand their program. Through this ARPA-funded program, CBGB will refurbish 800 donated bicycles and give them to qualifying Cambridge residents. Along with a free bicycle, residents will also receive bike accessories such as helmets, lights, and locks. Residents can qualify for a CBGB bike in two ways:

1. Residents living in certain areas (qualifying census tracts) of Cambridge may qualify (see map link here).
2. Residents living in Cambridge who receive public benefits (WIC, SNAP, MassHealth, Section 8, and others listed on the CBGB website) may qualify.

The goals of this program are to:

• Support health, wellbeing, and community connection.
• Give residents more mobility options.
• Address historic inequities in access to bicycles.
• Increase confidence riding bicycles.
• Reduce climate pollution related to transportation.

“Cambridge Bike Give Back is a trusted organization that has been doing this work for years,” said Stephanie Groll, Mobility Strategy Manager within the Cambridge Community Development Department. “We are very excited to support them in reaching more people in Cambridge."

“This additional support from the City of Cambridge will help us reach more residents, provide greater access to bicycles, promote healthier lifestyles, and advance social equity across Cambridge," added CBGB’s Roberts-Wells.

Applications for bikes will be accepted, and bikes will be given out, on a rolling basis until December 31, 2025, or until all of program funds have been awarded.

Residents can support this program by donating bicycles they no longer use, by volunteering as a bike mechanic, or by asking CBGB about other volunteer needs. 

For more information, including how to apply for this program, please visit the Cambridge Bicycle Access Programs website.