The New Orleans Community Bike Project

Founded in 2000, Plan B, The New Orleans Community Bike Project is a community-run bike project that functions as an open workspace for bicycle repair and education. The workspace makes an array of professional bike tools available for use to the public for free while volunteers offer free help in bike repair. Build-A-Bike Classes and Bike Maintenance Classes a re also available free of charge on a weekly basis. The bike shop makes used parts and bikes available at low cost or for small donations. New parts and supplies are also available at fair market value. All of the proceeds from parts and bike sales are used to keep the project running,

Why We Do It

There are plenty of reasons to ride bikes, particularly as a primary form of transportation: affordability, low emissions, reduced urban congestion. We want more people riding bikes and believe that the knowledge and equipment necessary for maintaining one's own vehicle should be available in a community space. We are also strong believers in community-based education and the idea that people learn things from others in a variety of settings. We feel that operating a space where folks can share what they know and learn what they don't strengthens a sense of community while simultaneously empowering people of every socio-economic level. Finally, we think it's important to rescue useful bikes and parts from the trash and reuse them to counter the extreme wastefulness of industrialized nations.