WHY SUPPORT THE BIKE KITCHEN?
This year the Bike Kitchen will be celebrating 25 years of providing affordable and accessible transportation to UBC students, staff and community members. However, since the onset of the pandemic in 2020, the Bike Kitchen has been hit hard financially. We estimate that we have lost approximately $250,000 in revenue, causing us to stagnate employee wages, reduce benefits to students, and increase prices to keep afloat. Last year we were unsuccessful in passing a referendum fee increase by 300 votes. We are again asking for an increase in our yearly fee from $1.17 to $4.17 (a $3 increase) to get us back on track to pay liveable wages, expand programming, get out of debt, and build on the success of our long standing community bike shop. We are an opt-out fee. This means students can support sustainable and affordable transportation by voting yes to the fee increase and still opt-out at the start of their academic term if they choose to.
Why are we in debt?
Since 2020 alone we have conservatively estimated a loss of over $250,000 in revenue due to the following:
2019: We were already a bit in a rocky place in 2019 having to navigate two consecutive moves, finally settling into our current location in the basement of the Life Building.
2020: The Bike Kitchen had a four month closure despite being declared an Essential Service.
2020-21: Students, staff and faculty were not on campus as classes were online from 2020 to 2021.
2020-2021: Bike part shortages due to global supply chain disruptions left us unable to complete repairs.
2020-ongoing: Loss of skilled mechanics due to non-competitive wages has impacted our ability to generate revenue from repairs and refurbishing bicycles
2022: Loss of revenue stream through transfer of bike locker & cages management
All this has led to a current deficit of over $50,000 as we struggle to retain skilled mechanics and pre-order enough parts and supplies to function; we have cut back on staffing, purchases and orders, and essentially most of our programming and events to try to make ends meet. We also raised our labour prices already in August 2022 to try to increase revenue. We are struggling to pay fair and equitable wages to our full-time staff during a period of increased costs of living and inflation, and still balance that by continuing to provide affordable labour rates to our customers.
We need more than $50,000 to wipe away our debt; we need a reinvestment from the community to help us see beyond each fiscal year and increase our capacity to deliver on our mandate as a community bike shop. We need your help!
What will we do with the money?
Create a long-term program where we provide bikes, helmets, lights and locks to BIPOC Students who have historically been underserved with regards to accessible transportation
Re-start intro to Bike Mechanic 101 courses, providing them at an accessible rate and discounted for students
Expand our Access Nights (free shop time for women, non-binary & trans folks during Gender Liberation Night, and for LGBTQI2S+ during Pride night)
Offer repairs for wheelchairs, strollers and mobility aids at no cost to the user, rather than charge “by donation”
No time limit on Do-It-Yourself instructional repairs (currently limited to max 1 hour)
4 repair stations available 6 days of the week (currently just 2 repair stations)
Increase our outreach clinics where we provide repairs at no cost to the recipients; partner with more student and on-campus groups to empower people to learn about fixing/maintaining their own bikes
Providing living wages and health & dental benefits to create sustainable jobs
Provide professional development for our staff (on topics such as anti-racism, anti-oppression, increasing cycling accessibility, and more!)
Boost and maintain our recycling activities, including our thrift store, metal and rubber upcycling
Increase community engagement: bring back the student-led cycling initiatives grant
More tune-up giveaways!
We project being able to begin offering increased programming immediately in our first fiscal year following a successful referendum and being completely debt free after 2 fiscal years. We envision reinvesting any future profits generated in the long run back into the UBC community, such as continued support for student access to bikes, bike parts and subsidized bike education.