DUARTE, California — June 28, 2007 — Dahon, the world leader in portable bicycles, today announced its support for Santa Cruz County’s “Folding Bikes in Buses” program. Under the program, residents who purchase select folding bikes will receive rebates of up to US $200. The “Folding Bikes in Buses” program is meant to encourage residents to use bicycles to ride from their homes to nearby bus stops, thus cutting down on traffic congestion. Dahon is working together with local partners on a mass mailing to raise awareness of the program.
“My original vision behind starting Dahon was that I saw the need for a short distance mobility tool to get people the few miles from their homes to the nearest bus or train station,” stated Dr. David Hon, Dahon founder and CEO. “I started Dahon 25 years ago after realizing that a well–designed folding bicycle was the ‘missing link’ that would encourage more people to use mass transit. It’s very encouraging to see progressive city governments, like Santa Cruz’s, agree with this vision.”
“Folding bicycles are essential for encouraging more people to ride the bus,” asserted Piet Canin, Deputy Director of the Santa Cruz Transportation Management Association. “One of the main barriers to riding the bus is that many people live too far from the nearest bus station. Riding a bike would make it easier to get to the bus stop, but the problem is that most buses only have racks for three full-sized bikes. With folding bikes, we can get more bike riders on the bus for trips that may be too long or too steep for many bike commuters.”
“Promoting increased use of buses is central to Santa Cruz transport planning,” continued Mr. Canin. “Santa Cruz is a pretty compact place and a combination of buses and bikes is an excellent way to get around town. Fewer cars and more people on buses will cut down on CO2 emissions and make our streets less congested.”
Dahon will design and provide the post cards for a mailing to Santa Cruz residents, in conjunction local participating retailers. “This is a great program and a fantastic opportunity to support our dealers,” stated Pete Molé, Dahon USA general manager.
The program is sponsored by the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission and funded by the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District. All Santa Cruz County area residents are eligible for this program by attending a 2-hour bicycle safety training class (Call 423-9569 ext. 127 to sign up). The Dahon authorized retailers participating in this program so far are:
The Spokesman Bicycles 231 Cathcart St. Santa Cruz, CA 95060, 429-6062
Sprockets 420 Mission St. Santa Cruz, Ca 95060, 426-7623
For more information on this program, please visit http://www.santacruztma.org/folding_bike.htm