100 Framingham Students Will Get Bikes After Bus Seat Shortage

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Soon, scores of Framingham students will trade bumpy, diesel-smelling rides to school on yellow buses for rides on two wheels — which also might be a little bumpy.

A new Framingham Public Schools (FPS) initiative will pair about 100 middle school students across the city with free bikes and helmets. The program came about after the district discovered many students couldn't find seats on school buses this spring. But the bikes would never have made it to students without a collaboration between local bike shops, nonprofits and city officials.

The initiative began when Fuller Middle School Counselor Magaly Rivera contacted Assistant Superintendent For Equity, Diversity and Community Development Joseph Corazzini asking if the district would buy a bike for a student who was having trouble finding a seat on the bus.

But when Corazzini looked into the problem, he found a larger group of students had the same problem. Coronavirus restrictions had decreased bus capacity, and the district was prioritizing rides for younger students, according to FPS.

Corazzini contacted the United Way of Tri-County for funding. The nonprofit agreed to pick up half the cost, with Jewish Family Service of MetroWest paying for the rest.

Paying for the bikes was the easy part. There's a bike shortage across the world due to more people seeking outdoor activities during the pandemic. Framingham businessman Brandale Randolph, owner of 1854 Cycling, found an overseas manufacturer that could actually deliver the bikes. Cambridge-based Crimson Bikes filled the order for the district.

To address safety concerns, Framingham police Chief Lester Baker linked FPS with MassDOT's Safe Routes program, which will provide training for students on how to ride safely. Meanwhile, the Boston law firm Breakstone White & Gluck's Project KidSafe bought helmets for all the students.

Before they could get bikes, chosen students had to sign a code of conduct (no headphones while riding, obey traffic laws, always wear a helmet and more) and agree to take safety classes — those began Thursday for Walsh and Cameron middle school students. Fuller students will get lessons June 4.

The bikes will help the students get to school, but will also allow them to travel during the summer months to jobs or activities, officials said.

"Not only are the students able to get to and from school, they now can have better accessibility to job opportunities across the city, parks, community centers and more," Corazzini said in a news release. "Having a bike also gets students out and moving. I hope that the initiative will inspire people to see challenges as opportunities for change and ignite a movement to make Framingham a ‘cycling community.'"