The volunteer team of the Spokes program at UVic will be on site Sunday seeking gently used bikes.
Since 2003 Spokes has diverted hundreds, if not thousands of bikes from the metal bin at Saanich’s Hartland landfill. Instead, it’s put them into the hands of students, faculty and staff at UVic, as well as visitors to the area.
“We have more than 600 bikes in our loan fleet and we rely on new donations to keep the floor stocked with bikes,” said volunteer Sarah Webb. “We do accept bikes all year round but the bike drive is to acquire some bikes to work on ahead of September.”
The loan of a Spokes bike (to students, faculty and staff) costs just $40 and is for as long as needed. The caveat is the borrower will maintain it and care for it like it’s their own, and return it when they’re done. There are nicer bikes available for short-term rental, and Spokes also sells a few bikes each year as well.
But the main goal of the Spokes 20-person volunteer team is to recycle used adult bicycles and keep them on the road.
“A lot of the bikes go to students in the Saanich area and we also accept a lot of bikes from Saanich residents,” Webb said.
The Spokes team will host a drop-off station from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at UVic’s Parking Lot 10, off Gordon Head Road.
For more information, contact spokes@uvic.ca.
reporter@saanichnews.com