Bikes abandoned on GRT buses find new life with newcomers, refugees

Bicycles are left on buses or at bus shelters a lot more often than you might think, but rather than throw them away, these bikes are getting cycledback into the community.

Each year roughly 100 bikesend up at Grand River Transit's (GRT) Strasburg Roadfacility in Kitchener, Ont.,and they are donated to a number of local groups who can put them to good use.

Most of the bikescome to the facility during the warmer months when more people take advantage of the good weather,said Matt Landowski, assistant manager of transit passenger amenities andmaintenance.

Once a bike is brought to Strasburg, staff record the bike'sserial number and description and try to workwith police to get in touch with the owner.

"We run the serial number to confirm if the bike has been stolen, so we'll share information with police so that we can reconnect the bike with its owner," he said.

If the bike has not been reportedmissing or stolen,Landowski said they keep the bike separate from the unclaimed ones for a month in hopes that the owner calls GRT to get it back.

Sometimes a bike is picked up, but most of the time theygounclaimed, he said.

"At that point we try to get the bikes to other agencies that do havea need for bicycles to giveto those who need them," he adds.

Landowski said donations go to children's camps, Recycles Cycles orlocal churches.

"It's nice to see that they aren't being wasted, especially if there is a need for it. It's nice to get them to people," he said.

Community builder

The Waterloo Mennonite Brethren Church has been part of the GRT bike program for the last five years and donates the bikes to newcomer or refugee families settling in the region.

"It'sso important for people who come to a new area and a new country to feel like someone cares," said Mary Ellen Tierney, one of the church's pastors.

She said for the families they support, a bike can mean many things:not just a mode oftransportation, but alsoa sense of independence and community in their new home.

Families often settle in parts of the region that aren't close to bus routes, so having abike can help them get to their ESL classes, to the grocery store andwork.

"It's a good community builder," she said. "I just love that. It's meeting, it's doing,it's seeing."