In San Diego, Deacon John Roberts leads a weekly cycling program that gives homeless participants more than exercise. It offers mobility, community, and a sense of freedom. For many of the participants in the program, cycling is a lifeline for job searches, addiction recovery, and access to services, despite unsafe riding conditions, theft, and persistent stigma.
Transportation is a major barrier for the unhoused, and advocates say bikes should be part of broader mobility strategies. “Bikeshare passes are dirt cheap compared to giving people cars or giving people transit passes,” said Jacob Lawrence Wasserman of the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies in a new Bloomberg CityLab article. “But it requires getting over that stigma of thinking every unhoused person on a bike must have stolen it.”
Homeless cyclists. part of the “invisible cyclist” population. often face unsafe riding conditions, theft, and stigma, with limited inclusion in policy discussions. Despite risks, bikes offer independence, health benefits, and social connection.
