The bright yellow bicycles situated on the east side of Iola Public Library are a nice addition to its new gazebo.
The bikes are courtesy of Thrive Allen County’s free bike share program.
The program began five years ago with the intention of providing recreational opportunities, said Marcia Davis, director of community engagement at Thrive.
“At least, that was the original idea,” she said Thursday afternoon. “Thrive thought the bikes would be helpful for when people had visitors in town and needed an extra bike to ride about town or go out on the rail trails.”
“But we’ve realized the bikes fill a more important need. Their biggest demand is for basic transportation to get to work, go to appointments or the grocery store,” she said.
Ben Alexander, owner of Southwind Cycle and Outdoor, said he’s witnessed a big increase in bicycle ownership and use in the last couple of years.
Stimulus funding from the pandemic helped many afford a bike.
“The additional unemployment benefits and child tax credits also made a huge difference to low-income families,” he said Friday morning.
During the pandemic, especially, Alexander has repaired more bikes than ever.
“All of a sudden 40-year-old bikes are reappearing in need of a ‘tune-up,’” he said. “Sometimes we can do that. Other times, the junk pile is the best place for them to go.”
Some people have found that owning a good bicycle outweighs a bad car, Alexander said.
“A $1,000 bicycle is a lot more reliable than a $10,000 car,” he said.
Increasingly, Alexander has customers looking to bicycles as their main form of transportation.
In that case, some opt for the electric bikes that have either a pedal or throttle assist. “They enable you to go farther and faster,” he said, with a maximum speed of 20 mph.
“They’re also a great tool for riding together as a crowd. Not everyone has the same fitness levels,” he said.
