We partner with government agencies, private foundations, local non-profits and others to identify priorities and possible funding sources to implement bike and pedestrian programs to make your community safer and healthier. Our services are available at no cost to you.
Walking and bicycling are easy and simple ways to make physical activity a part of your daily routine. We can help you plan, develop, and implement activities in your school or community to improve safety and promote walking and bicycling.
So what makes us different?
Public-Private Partnership
Disadvantaged Communities
We offer a range of bike and walk programs and services for the young and the old and prioritize underserved communities and those with high rates of pedestrian crashes and fatalities to make them safer.
Building a Culture of Health
In disadvantaged communities, we help improve a community’s health by encouraging biking and walking, better lighting, safer streets, and reduced air pollution.
What do we offer?
Bike/Ped/E-Bike/E-Scooter
We can come to your site and conduct 30-minute visual, age-appropriate, and interactive presentations about safety rules and benefits of walking or biking. We provide bicycle, e-bicycle, e-scooter, and pedestrian safety presentations and classes for all ages from preschool children to seniors in Bergen, Essex, Monmouth, Passaic, or Union County. Our Learn to Ride and Safe Skills bicycle, e-bicycle, and e-scooter classes are very popular and can be done in partnership with schools, parks & recreation, police departments, libraries, or with community organizations such as scouts or municipal green teams. We could also set up an on-bike skills course to teach bicyclists about starting, stopping, scanning, signaling, turning, and riding in traffic. A limited number of free helmets are available for youth who do not have one.
Driving Safety
We provide driving safety education for High School students, adults, and mature adults. These entertaining and educational presentations are interactive and include a video about driving safely around pedestrians and cyclists. We use an NJ Division of Highway Traffic Safety curriculum and other materials. We also provide CarFit classes for seniors to help them to continue driving as long as possible. Our instructors are AAA-trained CarFit Coordinators and technicians. Classes can be set up for those in Bergen, Essex, Monmouth, Passaic, or Union County.
Wheels4Work
The Wheels4Work and Spokes4Students programs provide used, refurbished bicycles to individuals with financial constraints for work or school-related transportation. All Wheels4Work applicants must be referred to EZ Ride by a Bergen, Essex, Monmouth, Passaic, or Union County nonprofit or human services organization. Schools and community groups can email us to ask about Spokes4Students and youth bicycle donations. We anticipate client demand for bicycles will exceed supply, and we will give priority to applicants with limited transportation access and financial challenges. Bicycle donations are always welcome from corporate groups, bike shops, or individuals for community events and to promote active transportation. Fillable application.
Street Smart
In partnership with NJTPA, our MPO, and local police, we can help your community to conduct safety education and enforcement campaigns as we strive to help New Jersey move toward zero deaths on the road.
Speed Studies
A dynamic speed display and data collection sign is made available, free of charge, to schools and municipal governments in Bergen, Essex, Monmouth, Passaic, and Union Counties on a temporary basis. The speed sign may be utilized for motorist awareness/display to slow traffic or for a speed study. Data collected during a speed study includes traffic volume, speeds traveled, day of week, and time of day, and can be used as part of a safety campaign, demonstration project, grant applications/reports, or for public meetings. Upon receipt of an application form and certificate of insurance, EZ Ride will schedule and conduct an analysis of the data collected and provide a short summary report. Permission must be secured from road owner – municipal, County or State.
Speed Study Program Application
Complete Streets
We can assist your community in adopting a Complete and Green Streets policy. In partnership with the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA), we can work with municipalities and counties to plan and implement temporary or permanent asphalt art demonstration projects to make your community safer for those who walk and bicycle or who are disabled. Projects may include intersection murals, bicycle lanes, high-visibility crosswalks to slow traffic, and curb extensions with flexible delineators to shorten crosswalks, and prevent cars from parking on corners and obstructing the view of pedestrians and drivers.
Safety Audits/Travel Plans
We will help communities, schools, and police to coordinate and lead road safety audits to assess local streets and create Travel Plan reports with recommendations that can be used for Sustainable Jersey certification and NJDOT infrastructure grants, including SRTS, Bikeways, and Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside.
Safety Education Resources
For students and adults, we have developed safety education presentations that can be used by local police, teachers, and others. These online resources are available in age-appropriate presentations in multiple languages for our diverse communities in English, Spanish, Korean, and Hindi. Each includes videos of our team demonstrating skills. We ask that you credit EZ Ride if you use our materials.
Our online Safety Presentations & Worksheets could help you learn from home.
Air Quality/Anti-Idling
In partnership with the NJDEP and NJDOT, we provide anti-idling education and campaigns for schools, and six to nine-month Air Quality Monitoring (AQM) studies in a municipal or school community to detect particulate matter using Purple Air monitors. We will work with local community organizations to provide anti-idling or AQM education. We will look to the community to identify sites where AQM may be most beneficial to install air quality monitors. A community meeting can be held to explain the project’s purpose and identify sites and local organizations willing to host an AQM study and to provide power and wifi. School and community members can see AQM readings to determine if it is a good idea to stay indoors or to avoid outdoor exercise using the Purple Air Monitor map. We will prepare a final report with AQM results and recommendations for the community.
Training Resources
Our School Travel Toolkit provides a wealth of information for teachers and parents about commuting safely to school – walking, bicycling, riding a scooter, taking the bus, or driving in your car. And our School Activity Learning Guide for school teachers offers new online presentations and activities, including E-Bike Safety, E-Scooter Safety, and Ten Easy Ways to Help the Environment for Science or Health classes.
Bike Locker Program
In partnership with NJ Transit, we manage enclosed bike lockers at seven train stations that can be rented for a nominal amount by commuters using public transit. The lockers are designed to protect bikes from weather, theft or damage in addition to eliminating the cost and hassle of parking.
Recognition Awards
Every year, we host a recognition event to celebrate the efforts of schools and municipalities who promote safe walking and biking. The awardees earn points towards grants provided by NJDOT and Sustainable Jersey.
Click here to see criteria for the recognition program.
Directions for award nomination
Bike & Pedestrian Curated Resources
We have curated Bike & Pedestrian information, including fun activities that have been organized by age from pre-school to high-school as well as for parents and teachers. They are updated every week to ensure you have access to the most current information. Click below for the latest.
What does it cost?
Our bicycle and pedestrian programs are funded by a combination of federal, state and private grants and are offered at no cost to schools, municipalities and community organizations.
How does it work?
We schedule events on weekdays during school or after school. And we also schedule a limited number of weekend events.
To schedule an event, please contact:
Lisa Lee
201-939-4242 Ext 123