Pedal into the future!
Explore group bike commuting with us!
There’s safety in numbers! Come ride with us and help change the face of transportation in Los Angeles.
Bike Day at L.A. State Historic Park
Sunday, Oct 16th,
2:00 pm — 5:00 pm
Learn skills and safety on a bike course
About
CiBiC is an experimental transportation research project to encourage group bike commuting among residents of the Northeast LA neighborhoods of Chinatown, Solano Canyon, Lincoln Heights, Cypress Park, William Mead Homes, and adjacent areas.
We’re asking people to try commuting to work on bicycles in small groups – a cheaper, healthier, more sustainable, and potentially more satisfying alternative to cars.
It’s like carpooling but on bikes!
CiBiC is a collaborative research project led by UCLA and funded by the National Science Foundation. CiBiC studies how to support bicycle commuting in L.A. Participation in the research involves bicycle commuting with groups of residents and expert mentors. More Info: austin@mobilityjustice.org
How It Works
Join CiBiC
You will use the CiBiC smartphone app, known as Pave, to find the directional route (or “flow”) and the group (or “pod”) of fellow riders that best suit both where you need to go and when you need to arrive at work. Beginners are welcome and first-time users can be assigned a one-on-one mentor to help get you started.
Commute to work with your Pod
You will be paired with expert bicycle commuters in a group ride to and from your work. You’ll travel with your pod along well-planned routes to your job and then back home again. The routes will start from Northeast DTLA and travel along popular commuting directions, picking up riders along the way. We’ll train you on bike safety and the rules of the road, and support you every step of the way!
Receive incentives and rewards!
Participants will receive cash incentives to join the app and take the rides!
2022 CiBiC Schedule
Lo-Fi Test Ride
May 1Lo-Fi Test Ride
May 6Lo-Fi Test Ride
May 28App Test Ride
June 11Lo-Fi Test Ride
July 2App Test Rides
July 9-10Bike Day
July 31Alpha Commutes
August 15 - 19Beta Commutes
August 29 - September 2Bike Day
September 25Commutes Begin
October 1-31Bike Day
October 30Commuting Expansion
November 1-30Join CiBiC
Registration has closed. Thank you to all participants for being a part of CiBiC!
Frequently asked questions
CiBiC stands for Civic Bicycle Commuting and is a pilot transportation research project to encourage people to try commuting to work on bicycles in groups. It’s like carpooling but on bikes! The goal is to create a community-driven group bicycling system. We believe that biking will make your commute more enjoyable, lower your travel costs, and help you feel more connected to your community. It’s cheaper, healthier, more environmentally friendly, and more fun than commuting by car!
Cash incentives are available to all riders based on your participation in our project!
Yes! CiBiC is great even for novice riders. We’ll train you on bike safety and the rules of the road. One-on-one mentors are also available to get you started on the first few rides, meeting you close to your house and escorting you to your pod (your group) to join the ride.
CiBiC is a collaborative project of UCLA, Los Angeles River State Park Partners, People for Mobility Justice, SudoMagic, Pave Commuting, and Sorkhabi International, funded by the National Science Foundation's CIVIC Innovation Challenge: Communities and Mobility. The current pilot follows an earlier planning phase.
For General Inquiries, please contact Kathleen Johnson at Los Angeles River State Park Partners, kathleen@larsppartners.org. For questions about the app or to try the system, please fill out the form at the bottom of the page.
Yes, participants should have their own functioning bike to participate. However, if you would like to try the system but don't have a bike, the CiBiC team has some limited ability to help get you one.
CiBiC is currently offered in three languages: English, Spanish, and Chinese.
You will be paired with expert bicycle commuters in a group ride to and from your work using the CiBiC smartphone app.
In the app, you will be assigned two things:
1) the route or “flow” that best suits where you need to go for work, so which direction;
and
2) the group or “pod'' of riders that best suits when you need to arrive at work; so what time you need to be at your job.
Your pod will then take you along well-planned routes to and from your job! In the pods, we will pair less-skilled bike riders with more experienced ones in order to increase safety and support. The CiBiC administrators will match you with a flow that will help you get from home to work and work to home.
In the app, you will be assigned two things:
1) the route or “flow” that best suits where you need to go for work, so which direction;
and
2) the group or “pod'' of riders that best suits when you need to arrive at work; so what time you need to be at your job.
Your pod will then take you along well-planned routes to and from your job! In the pods, we will pair less-skilled bike riders with more experienced ones in order to increase safety and support. The CiBiC administrators will match you with a flow that will help you get from home to work and work to home.
Through the app, riders can also participate in a data-driven art component which will visualize the bike flows, activity of pods, and riders within them. Riders will be asked to write about or comment upon their bike commuting journey as a way to reflect on their progress, evaluate the system, and co-create a piece of community artwork.
The current CiBiC bike flows are being designed for riders who commute from Chinatown, Solano Canyon, Lincoln Heights, Cypress Park, and William Mead Homes. Interested riders in adjacent neighborhoods should also contact the system to see if a current route would suit their needs. The more riders that join the system, eventually, the more routes will be developed in the system.
Riders are encouraged, though not required, to ride daily, but we know that that might not always be possible for each rider in a given week. Ideally, you would bike at least a couple times a week so that you can get comfortable with the bike flow, or route, that you are assigned to, as well as the fellow riders in your assigned pod, or group of riders.
Riders must be 18 years or older, own a smartphone to download the CiBiC app, own a bike, have the ability to ride a bike, and live in one of the target neighborhoods for this study, which includes Chinatown, Solano Canyon, Lincoln Heights, Cypress Park, and William Mead Homes.
You can learn more by clicking "Our Research" at the top menu bar of this website to read the full research proposal for the CiBiC project.
We do not have an official list of supported devices. We do always support all up-to-date iPhones and a wide variety of Android versions and manufacturers.
CiBiC Team
Community Partners
In The Media
Questions and Inquires?
If you have any questions, inquiries, or concerns, don’t hesitate to contact us using the form below!