This article was published in the June/July 2009 Wedge newsletter. The following information may be outdated.

Co-ops and Bikes: Never Been Better

By Troy Pieper, The Hub Bike Cooperative

Economic recession is a time for innovation and a greater focus on what already works. It's a wonderful time to be a bicyclist, and there have never been more resources available for biking. It's also a good time to be a member of a cooperative business, because co-ops have a history of weathering economic crises well.

In addition to being an excellent use of resources, biking is a fun opportunity to work your body while getting you where you need to go. Cities across the country are realizing that biking may be worth an investment. Minneapolis is one of four cities nationwide that received a substantial grant from the federal government as part of a pilot project to increase biking and walking infrastructure and public education about the benefits of both. The Minneapolis Bike/Walk Program was created last year out of that grant, and it's already engaged in several initiatives offering valuable resources for bikers. In addition, a program for public bike sharing in Minneapolis is slated to start in spring of 2010.

But let's not forget that Minneapolis was already a leader in bicycle infrastructure, with miles of trails and bike lanes as well as collaborations that produced projects like the Midtown Greenway. Even our transit company offers free personalized bike route mapping! It's no wonder that the number of cyclists on the road increase every year as people realize the practicality of cycling.

As co-op members, we know that cooperative businesses strengthen the economy, especially at the local level. Co-ops anchor capital in the communities they serve by investing surplus income back into their business and into the community by way of patronage refunds and donations. If lending companies were all co-ops, we might not be in the pickle we find ourselves in now.

The slumping economy may be having less of an effect on co-ops than on conventional businesses. New co-ops are being established despite the state of the economy. In Ohio, the worker-owned Baltimore Bicycle Works is breaking even in its first year. A cooperative brewpub in Austin, Texas plans to open its doors in late 2009. At the international level, Orbea, a Spanish cooperative that manufactures high-performance bikes (available at The Hub) is going strong. Most of these examples are bicycle related, but this trend extends to all types of cooperative businesses.

The Center for Cooperatives at the University of Wisconsin in Madison recently released its findings from the first-ever comprehensive study on cooperative businesses in the US. The 29,284 co-ops surveyed experience more than $654 billion in revenue annually, paying $75 billion in wages each year and employing more than 2 million Americans. Co-ops trace their history to the mid-1800's during England's industrial revolution, and the model still works.

You can find biking resources at: