The Montgomery County Department of Transportation’s (MCDOT) annual one-day event to collect child and adult bikes to help residents in need resulted in a record-breaking 306 bicycles donated on Friday, Oct. 11 in Rockville. The total exceeded last year’s then-record of 297 bikes collected.
The bike collection event is organized in partnership with the Rockville Bike Hub, whose volunteers check the bikes. The bikes are then placed with County residents in need through the BikeMatchMoCo program. Bikes that are not in near-perfect condition are distributed through Bikes for the World, an international bike donation program.
This was the sixth year that MCDOT sponsored a bike drive (no events were held during the two years of the COVID-19 health crisis). The drives have resulted in the collection of more than 1,350 donated bikes. However, the need is high, with 327 bike requests pending in the County.
MCDOT operates a bike match program year-round through the BikeMatchMoCo program. Residents who wish to donate or receive a bike can do so by filling out the bike request form on MCDOT’s website. Once a donated bike has been matched to a recipient, a MCDOT representative facilitates bike pickup.