Politics

We the people of Right to Move:

• were founded in the spring of ’97;
• are dedicated to facilitating safe, reliable access to transportation by bicycle for everyone;
• are a large, diverse and dedicated group of people;
• recognize that bicycles do not produce greenhouse gases or other toxins, as cars do;
• recognize that women have less access to mechanical know-how, and work to right this imbalance;
• have a space, allocated by Concordia Space Planning, for a temporary shop and bicycle storage;
• provide bicycle-maintenance workshops and drop-in repair help in our shop;
• accept donated bicycles (which would otherwise go to the landfill) and repair them so they can be used;
• reduce the demand for more bicycles to be built under socially-exploitative and environmentally-disastrous conditions;
• intend to provide a defensive-cycling training program in the future.

• Repaired RTM/Lvl bikes can be sold on an ongoing basis at the shop during our open hours or by appointment if a buyer can’t make it while we are open.
• RTM/Lvl bikes are donated to us so that they can be sold or donated to people who otherwise would not be able to afford to buy a bike and who will be able to use it.
• We will sell bicycles to anyone who walks into our shopafter they have had explained to them the mandate of RTM/Lvl, that we provide bikes for people to use, and that we encourage people to understand as much about their bike as possible so that they will get lots of use out of it.
• They will also be told that they can use the RTM/Lvl shop to maintain their bike.
• Since it is much easier for RTM/Lvl to disperse its bikes by selling them than by giving them away, RTM/Lvl designates two out of every five (?) bikes that we repair to be for donation to community groups. These bicycles will be set aside to be allocated by the team responsible for community liaison which will determine how, when, and why they are to be donated. The community liaison team is responsible for elaborating policy and guidelines regarding the donation of bicycles and their policy will be attached to this general policy statement.
• In general, bikes that are sold at the shop start at $25 for a bike which has had no repairs done and has had no parts added. The value of all parts which have been attached to a bicycle (see parts price list) is added to the bicycle and the approximate value of the repaired bicycle is decided upon at biweekly meetings. This price is then suggested to the buyer who will opt either to buy it or to buy another bicycle which is in their price range.
• Prices, however, are flexible and people who cannot afford, but really want, a specific bike (or the only available bike) should be accommodated to a reasonable extent. Also, buyers can be invited to choose a bicycle which they will pay $25 for and then repair for themselves.
• The first concern in establishing a price should be that the buyer is able to afford the bike, the second concern should be the value of the bicycle and the need for RTM/Lvl not to undercut itself. We are a non-profit organization, yet we are able to maintain our services to the community partly through the sale of bicycles. It is for this reason that we ask people to pay as much as they can afford for a bicycle.