It’s a bike… it’s a wheelchair… it’s the WalkWorks Micro-Fleet!
What is the Micro-Fleet? It’s an education and outreach tool for Active Transportation modes in Pennsylvania. It is many things, depending on the audience, but overall you can think of it as a micro-mobility/accessibility petting zoo, a teaching tool, and a community physical activity challenge.
As part of Pennsylvania Downtown Center’s work promoting Active Transportation – walking, biking, using a wheelchair, and accessing transit – and providing funding and technical assistance to communities for Active Transportation planning, we have assembled a small fleet of micro-mobility devices. Micro-mobility refers to the proliferating category of small, lightweight vehicles typically operated under 15 mph and usually either propelled by the user or by a small electric motor. Micro-mobility is complementary to and compatible with the most ancient of modes, walking. These “alternative” modes – walking, taking transit, using a wheelchair or riding a micro-device – are all considered part of active travel. Active travel is good for people’s health; it’s good for business; and it’s good for the planet.
The WalkWorks Micro-Fleet currently consists of
- two folding e-bikes (one hub-drive and one mid-drive),
- an e-trike,
- a wheelchair,
- a white cane (as used by people who are blind or vision-impaired),
- a collection of balance bikes in sizes suitable for riders from age 2 to adult,
- two adaptive “balance trikes,”
- a stroller, and
- equipment like bike helmets, cones, and other gear for creating challenge courses.
A mini-grant from Outride enabled us to expand our offerings in 2023. And we worked with over 1000 kids across the state that year on in-person/on-wheels road safety and cycling education. We are also hoping to introduce some adaptive/passenger pedalcycles for Cycling Without Age activities, getting less mobile older adults out and about and able to enjoy the many rail trails around the Commonwealth.
Just as Active Transportation is itself a mix of many modes and not just one, easy-to-pinpoint thing, the Micro-Fleet is a mélange. Some may think it’s a gotcha moment, pointing out that the program is called WalkWorks – so what is with all these things with wheels? What we are really all about is mobility options. No single mode works for every trip. We want more people to have more safe, accessible, and inviting transportation options for more of their trips. On the one hand, that means we need better designed and maintained infrastructure. But it also means we need a shift in perception. We need to dislodge the default association most people have between getting where you need to go and a single mode of travel: motor vehicles. The Micro-Fleet is intended to be a way to introduce something new to people of different ages, different abilities, and different roles in their communities.
The Micro-Fleet can be used for events like bike rodeos or teacher training activities or other big group programs, but the Micro-Fleet also has a place in more targeted, one-on-one situations. The e-bikes, e-trike, white cane, and wheelchair in particular are available for use by municipal officials, such as managers, roadmasters, planning commission members, council members or supervisors, interested in seeing their community and its infrastructure through a different lens. They can help people get out from behind a car windshield and start to experience sidewalks and streets at walking speed. Without doing that, it can be hard to focus on either the small pleasures or the urgent gaps that confront people walking, using a wheelchair, or riding a bike. Walking is typically a readily available option, but also one that simply may not be gotten around to. The Micro-Fleet makes a special occasion out of such outings.
We invite you to check out the Micro-Fleet! Maybe take a bike, trike, or wheelchair for a spin. Consider how you would like to see the Micro-Fleet deployed in your community. Reach out to WalkWorks at pawalkworks[at]padowntown.org to see if we can bring the Micro-Fleet to your community to kickstart or build on interest in active transportation planning.
