🚨 Please note: BikePortland is currently on hiatus and only publishing guest articles. Learn more here. Thank you. - Jonathan 🙏

Job: Loaner Bike Program Coordinator – Go By Bike

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Job Title

Loaner Bike Program Coordinator

Company / Organization

Go By Bike

Job Description

Overview:

Join Go By Bike and help make Portland the best city in North America to ride a bike. Over the past 15 years, Go By Bike has operated the largest bicycle valet in North America, having parked over one million bicycles. We believe that allowing people to ride bikes makes the world a better place. Our mission is to develop new strategies to make bicycling more convenient and accessible. We are a small and nimble team that runs a bicycle valet, repair shop, pedicab shuttle service, and a small fleet of loaner bikes for Oregon Health and Science University. We are looking for someone to take our loaner bike program to the next level.

Responsibilities:

Our partner, OHSU, is seeking a new project coordinator to administer the Bike Loaner Program for the next 5 years. OHSU was awarded a grant from the Portland Clean Energy Fund to add 50 e-bikes to the bike loaner program, over the next 5 years, and to enhance bike education and outreach to OHSU students and employees. With this grant, the Bike Loaner Project Coordinator will independently manage the expansion of the loaner bike program, act as an onsite point of contact for participants, track program metrics, and complete reporting requirements for the grant award.

Hours: Monday-Friday typically 7:30am-4pm, Flexible hours including nights and weekends.
Work location: This position works onsite at OHSU in both outdoor and indoor environments.
Pay Rate: $28-$30/hour
Yearly schedule: One week of paid winter vacation between Christmas and New Year, paid holiday leave, and one PTO accrual per month at the time of hire. Two weeks paid summer vacation after the first year.

A successful candidate will be an energetic, responsible, and dependable self-starter, with a passion for attention to detail, project management and community engagement.
If you are passionate about making the world a better place by making it possible for more people to ride bikes, we want you. We are looking for a reliable project coordinator to make this expanded bike loaner program a success.

Project Coordination:

Work with OHSU and Go By Bike teams to administer the project, work within the projected budget and timelines, and maintain documents and invoices to meet reporting requirements.
Track metrics from program monitoring, compiling and analyzing data to support metrics, and reporting findings to project team and grant administrator.
Suggest next steps for the program, as determined by metric findings. Write status reports and maintain master files, documenting progress throughout the course of the project.
Solicit feedback on the program from participants and community through surveys, targeted communications, and other engagement tools.
Suggest, promote and sustain process improvement initiatives throughout the life of the program. Look for opportunities to learn new techniques and methods that will improve efficiency and quality.
Meet all grant compliance requirements including meticulously tracking funds spent, completing quarterly grant reporting, and tracking key metrics on program participants.
Collaborate with OHSU’s Transportation Demand Management (TDM) team including attending recurring program meetings to assist with furthering the overall TDM strategies and programs including carpool, bike, walk and transit programs.
Communicate any lost, stolen or damaged property to OHSU management in a timely manner.
Help procure and add new bikes to the fleet in compliance with the scheduled timeline.
Source and manage branded gear and giveaway items for all TDM programs.
Ensures the program operations are optimized by maintaining bikes on active loan and decreasing time between loan periods.

Customer Service and Communication:

Act as the day-to-day point of contact for the program participants, providing technical and administrative support.
Coordinate bike check-out and check-in, and provide excellent in-person and virtual customer service.
Work closely with the bike programming team to provide updates on the program, problem-solve issues as they arise and communicate key metrics.
Work with local organizations and other PCEF recipients to plan and implement educational workshops. Coordinate instructors for various workshops, recruiting a diverse pool of knowledgeable experts.
Collaborate with the communication team to increase program awareness, recruit participants, and share program successes including in person and virtual events.
Work with OHSU communication team to create and maintain relevant program messaging including print and digital materials.
Complete participant offboarding duties, including ensuring the participant has met all program requirements, administering the loan completion paperwork, and advising the participant on support for purchasing their own bike.
Attend in person and virtual outreach events to promote OHSU’s TDM programs and provide customer support.

Bike Knowledge:

Maintain a working bike fleet by performing regular maintenance, safety checks, ordering necessary supplies, and maintaining the fleet in rotation.
Consult on necessary purchases to expand the bike fleet and outfit the bikes with all necessary gear.
Inspect every returned bike before safely storing it, communicating with mechanic staff on major repairs.
Prepare bikes for retirement from the program via used bike market sales, surplus, or parting out of the bikes.

Complete all other additional duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

1-3 years of experience in either program coordination, community outreach, or education.
Previous customer service experience required.
Basic bike maintenance desired, or the willingness to learn
Demonstration of excellent communication, analytical and organizational skills.
Ability to build and maintain relationships with the OHSU and Portland bike communities.
Intermediate ability to perform a full range of project development and management skills.
Ability to analyze business processes and make recommendations for improvement.
Intermediate to excellent skills to collect, analyze and visualize data using tools such as Excel, Google Sheets, Smartsheet, Sharepoint, etc.
Experience working with Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Teams, Slack, etc.
Experience with or willingness to learn bicycle safety education fundamentals.
Availability to work special shifts if needed (late nights and/or weekends).
Proof of eligibility to work legally in the U.S. (must provide valid documentation if hired).
The ability to provide accurate information to customers and co-workers and respond professionally to customer problems or complaints.
The ability to follow written and verbal instructions and calmly adapt to changes, delays, and unexpected events while working.
Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, and use hands to handle equipment and perform bike maintenance. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds, as well as load and transport bikes/equipment. The ability to work outside and ride a bicycle with a trailer.

Benefits: Eligible employees will participate in the various benefits plans, including health insurance reimbursement and 5% retirement contribution.

How to Apply

Send a resume with 1-3 paragraph cover letter on why you would be a good fit for this position.

Freeway expansions value-engineered out of Interstate Bridge Replacement project, for now

At a press conference in Vancouver today, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson announced that the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program will finally live up to its name.

Instead of five miles of freeway expansions and seven new interchanges, the project will be phased to include just the bridge replacements and an extension of MAX light rail across the Columbia River. Also making the cut in this “core set of projects” is the shared-use paths that will give bicycle riders and walkers new connections across the river.

Yes, project officials have finally relented and have decided to right-size the project in the way dozens of environmental and social justice organizations in the Just Crossing Alliance have been encouraging them to do for years now.

Advocates for a smaller IBR project outside the capitol in April 2023. (State Senator Khanh Pham in middle to left of sign. Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Ferguson also revealed a $7.65 billion cost estimate for this smaller project and said he’ll personally ensure construction begins by 2028. That’s still not a guarantee because the project has just $5.5 billion committed to the project so far. According to new cost estimate documentation shared today, that amount is enough for them to begin the major elements of the core set of projects.

“The first thing I want to say is we’re going to build this bridge,” Ferguson said at the outset of today’s press conference. “That’s going to happen. There’s just far too much at stake for any other option” Ferguson, flanked at the podium by project leaders, elected officials, and construction workers in helmets and hi-viz vests sought to tamp down skepticism of the project after a bombshell report by the Oregon Journalism Project back earlier this year that the full project would cost $12 billion to $17 billion.

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New doc outlining “core set of projects” shared today that confirms inclusion of “enhanced shared-use path for people who walk bike and roll.”

That cost estimate, which project officials dismissed as being just a draft when that report came out in January, was confirmed by project officials today. The new, official estimate for the full, five-mile corridor is now $14.4 billion.

The full project is still on the table, but Ferguson made it clear that it’s being pushed back for now. “We will continue to work toward the larger corridor down the road, in phases, as funding becomes available,” he said.

TriMet General Manager Sam Desue was also at the press conference. In his comments he touted light rail’s first extension into Washington as opening up, “one seat ride from Evergreen into downtown Vancouver to downtown Portland, the Moda center, shopping, health care and so much more.”

Current conditions going southbound from Vancouver.

Toward the end of the press conference, someone in the media asked Governor Ferguson why the project had to include light rail at all, especially since many people in Clark County don’t want it. “That train has left the station,” Ferguson replied, without skipping a beat. “I want to be clear,” he continued. “I’m not interested looking backwards. We’re building this damn bridge. That’s happening, okay?!”

Ferguson’s enthusiasm is music to the ears of IBR project backers. But he’s only been on the job for 14 months and he’s also smart enough to understand that this project has been anything but easy since it first began in 2007. “We’re gonna have good days and we’re gonna have bad days ahead,” he cautioned folks at today’s presser (which included Portland Metro Chamber President Andrew Hoan, Oregon Trucking Association President Jana Jarvis, and many others). “That’s the fact. But I just want to be really, really clear that I’m super committed to this.”

Oregon State Senator Khanh Pham, who was a supporter of the “Right Size Right Now” campaign, told BikePortland today she’s encouraged that Governors Kotek and Ferguson have taken the project in a new direction. “I hope today’s decision marks a turning point in the IBR project in which the agencies acknowledge the financial realities of our state budgets and the imperative to curb excessive megaproject spending to preserve funding for core functions of our transportation system,” Pham shared in an email. “It’s imperative that policymakers in both states continue to push back against an oversized, bloated project and demand that ODOT propose and deliver a right-sized bridge with a right-sized budget that doesn’t bankrupt our state.” 


New working group appointed by Governor Kotek will address road funding needs

An arterial street in East Portland. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek has put together a working group that will try and find a path out of our state’s transportation funding quagmire. The roster of the group hasn’t been made public, but Kotek’s Transportation Advisor Kelly Brooks told members of the Oregon Transportation Commission at their meeting last week that the first meeting will happen in April and they’ll publish a report with funding recommendations before the end of this year.

Since an attempt by lawmakers to pass a major transportation funding package failed spectacularly in 2025, it’s been common knowledge in Salem that they’d try again in 2027. What’s considered a band-aid funding bill was passed at the recent short session, but it’s only a temporary measure.

Speaking at the OTC meeting Thursday, Brooks said the working group’s goal will be to frame the 2027 conversation. The working group will include both Democrats and Republicans, as well as transportation experts, advocates, and everyday users of the system. Former Oregon Governor Kate Brown did something similar prior to the previous major transportation package that passed in 2017. The Governor’s Transportation Vision Panel produced a reported titled One Oregon that came out in May 2016. It was used to inform a series of public meetings about funding prior to the 2017 session.

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Cover of One Oregon report. (State of Oregon 2016)

Kotek’s transportation working group project is being led by Susan Peithman, a 10-year ODOT veteran who began in the agency’s Active Transportation group. Prior to ODOT, Peithman spent two years at the Transportation Research and Education Center at Portland State University and was the statewide policy advocate for The Street Trust for over three years. Peithman’s other role at ODOT is director of the Climate Office.

Brooks didn’t reveal many details on Thursday, but did hint that Kotek is seeking to be innovative. “We are in a new place now, given what’s happening on the ballot and elsewhere, where we have to take a new approach to solutions,” she said. “What are what problems do we want to solve? How are we going to solve them? And how are we going to do it together?”

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When it comes to the assignment the working group will be given, Brooks said they must address Oregon’s “structural revenue issue.” “We have a set of needs; so the first thing they need to do is grapple with, ‘What do our adopted plans say we’re supposed to be doing, and what are we actually doing? And how does our revenue match up with that?'”

ODOT and lawmakers had an opportunity to change their approach in the short session when the state faced a $288 million budget hole and sought to reallocate or “rebalance” $117 million into highway operations and maintenance. Despite many adopted plans calling for greenhouse gas emissions and more funding for bicycling and walking statewide, lawmakers raided $25 million in grant funding sources that would have gone toward projects that make it safer for kids to bike and walk to school, give people the ability to bike and walk on carfree paths, and they chose to reduce money available for passenger rail maintenance.

This political choice to maintain funding for highway expansion megaprojects like the I-5 Rose Quarter or I-205 widening projects while reducing funding for Safe Routes to School, passenger rail, and the Community Paths program was made crystal clear at Thursday’s meeting by Oregon Transportation Commissioner Phil Chang.

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OTC Member Phil Chang

“I heard a little bit about the the legislative horse-wrangling around this [funding] rebalance,” Chang revealed in a moment of candor. “I think that projects like I-5 Rose Quarter and Center Street Bridge [a $470 million project in Salem] had specific legislative champions who, you know, didn’t convince all of their colleagues, but convinced enough of their colleagues, that those projects stayed untouched by this rebalance.”

Chang seemed displeased by how the funding reallocations went down. “I want to make it really clear for people that services delayed are services denied,” he said. “We are not going to be able to do multimodal projects in this biennium [ODOT’s two-year budget cycle] that would make pedestrians, cyclists, and particularly kids trying to get to school safer.”

Whether this new working group comes out strong in favor of more robust spending on non-freeway, non-driving infrastructure, remains to be seen. Brooks said the scope of the effort will look at funding needs beyond ODOT and that the report will address, “local system needs and transit as well.”

Stay tuned for an official announcement of the working group and its members sometime this week.

Oregon Bicycle Racing Association leader Chuck Kenlan on the health of competitive cycling

Is bike racing healthy in the state of Oregon? That’s just one question I asked Oregon Bicycle Racing Association Executive Director Chuck Kenlan in an interview this morning. We had a wide-ranging conversation. Chuck and I talked about participation and membership figures for 2025, what racing disciplines are trending right now, the prospects of a velodrome in Oregon, recent rule changes for transgender racers, and more.

OBRA just wrapped their annual meeting and the 2026 race season kicked off in fine fashion last weekend with races in Echo and Pendleton. With lots of folks starting to think about riding season, I figured it’d be a fun time to touch base with Chuck and learn more about what OBRA does.

Listen to and/or watch our interview in the players above or wherever you get your podcasts.

PBOT staff will join us at Bike Happy Hour this week

PBOT Public Realm and Street Activation Coordinator Greg Raisman at a BikePortland Get Together on NE Alberta Street in 2009. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

I’m excited to announce that this week at Bike Happy Hour we’ll get to hear from two top transportation bureau staffers. Mark Lear and Shoshana Cohen will join us to talk about two important and timely topics: autonomous vehicles (AVs) and the new PBOT funding proposal.

Many years ago when I hosted a series of events throughout the city called “Get Togethers” (anyone remember those?!), I almost always lined up PBOT staff to join us (see photo above from a 2009 event). I love connecting users of our cycling network with the people who manage it. Since I started Bike Happy Hour nearly three years ago, I’ve been waiting for the right time to do it again. Now is that time!

This Wednesday (March 18th), Mark and Shoshana will help us understand the latest thinking at the City of Portland regarding the future of Waymo and other AVs on our streets, and how PBOT is going to fund itself into the future.

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Mark, whose official title is “resources manager,” has been at the center of PBOT funding conversations for nearly two decades. I first mentioned his name on the blog in 2006 in a post related to a safety plan PBOT was working on. Mark was a point person for PBOT in 2008 when former Mayor Sam Adams (then a commissioner) introduced his “Safe, Sound, and Green” funding proposal. Today Mark plays a key role in PBOT’s Fixing Our Streets program and is one of their go-to-guys for all things funding. What I like about Mark is he’s always been someone who seems to really listen and learn from what people in the community are saying. He’s a genuinely thoughtful and smart dude and I can’t wait to hang out with him on Wednesday.

Shoshana has been more on the government affairs side of the ball since she joined PBOT in 2015. Today she’s on PBOT’s Executive Team with the title of “chief of staff.” Before joining PBOT, Shoshana was executive director of the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods, so she is no stranger to how community feedback influences city policy. Another interesting note about her background: she holds a Master of Urban Planning and Policy degree from the University of Illinois Chicago.

If you care about the future of AVs or the future of our roads in general, you don’t want to miss Bike Happy Hour this week. I hope you can join us for a spirited conversation.

As per usual, I’ll start things off at 5:30 with announcements, then we’ll get right into the PBOT conversations. Come at 4:00 if you want to share some food with us!

Bike Happy Hour with Special Guests from PBOT
Wednesday, March 18th – 3:00 to 6:00 pm (Program begins at 5:30)
Migration Brewing (3947 N Williams Ave, enter from alley for bike parking)

Monday Roundup: Paris won the war, rails-to-trails, clean air, and more

Hope your week is off to a great start. Below are the most notable stories that came across my inbox this past week…

Let’s be like Paris: “Parisian car traffic fell by more than half between 2002 and 2023, while cycle lanes expanded sixfold. Bikes now make more than twice as many journeys as cars.” This piece delves into the legacy of bike-loving Mayor Anne Hidalgo and the politics of what comes next. (Financial Times 🔒)

Air pollution reduced with this one simple trick: Bicycle infrastructure is listed as one of the chief reasons several major cities across the globe — including San Francisco in the U.S. — made their air cleaner since 2010. (The Guardian)

Some Democrats really suck: As the Trump Middle East War rages on and gas prices spike, some hapless Democrats in the U.S. Senate are floating the idea of a “gas tax holiday” because they don’t have a clue how politics or transportation policy actually works. Barf emoji. (Gizmodo)

How we count traffic deaths: David Zipper argues that the trend among U.S. transportation officials to frame road safety by using the deaths per mile driven metric — instead of deaths per capita — is misleading and counter-productive. (Bloomberg)

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Rails to Trails Film: I didn’t even know this documentary about the rails-to-trails movement came out back in October. Now, who in Portland wants to host a screening? I feel like the Salmonberry Trail folks should jump on this! (From Rails to Trails on PBS)

Bike share success: The bike share system in Hamilton, Ontario (Canada) that we gifted 650 Biketown bikes too is flourishing as it celebrates a record-setting year. Unlike in Portland, the system is run by a nonprofit that wants to see the system succeed, instead of a corporation that wants to see the system make as much money as humanly possible. (Hamilton Spectator)

The Fat Cake cycling club: A club in San Francisco that is all about inclusivity, having fun, and finishing each ride with baked goods has skyrocketed in popularity. (SF Chronicle 🔒)

Adaptive re-use: A parking garage in Crystal City, Virginia is home to one of the coolest cycling events in the country: the Parking Garage Bike Racing National Championship. (WAMU)


Thanks to everyone who sent in links this week. The Monday Roundup is a community effort, so please feel free to send us any great stories you come across.

Why did Oregon lower the legal age for e-bike riding?

In the latest episode of the BikePortland Podcast, you’ll meet Cameron Bennett, a self-described “champion of things with small wheels” and board member of The Street Trust who leads the Oregon Micromobility Network. I wanted to bring Cam on to tell us about the big legislative victory they scored last week when lawmakers passed House Bill 4007.

HB 4007 does several important things: it lowers the legal age for riding a Class 1 (no throttle, 20 mph max) e-bike from 16 to 14 years of age; it defines “powered micromobility device” in Oregon law for the first time; and it prohibits retailers from selling “e-bikes” that are actually e-motorcycles. The new laws are also notable for what they don’t do: They don’t create absurd regulations around e-bikes like we’ve seen in places like New Jersey where a recent bill passed by their legislature requires all e-bike riders to have license and registration.

I asked Cam about all this and more in our conversation this morning that’s now available for your listening and/or viewing pleasure on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

Below is an excerpt from a short clip of the interview.

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Jonathan:

“We see headlines about young people crashing, and that’s always gets a lot of attention, but this bill actually lowered the age where people can ride e bikes. So tell me a little bit about the thinking behind that.”

Cameron:

“It allows kids under the age of 16 to learn safe road behavior before they’re behind the wheel of a vehicle. You know, we see this in countries with higher rates of cycling. When you have a familiarity with being a vulnerable road user, you’re a more respectful driver down the line. So we see this this really potent through-effects for getting folks on e-bikes before they get behind the wheel of a car.

The last major piece that this age change will allow is it will give educators more flexibility to bring e-bikes into the classroom at a younger age. So now any safe routes for Safe Routes to School education that happens in a high school environment can include e-bikes. This just gives us another opportunity to help foster a safer road culture at a younger age throughout state.”

Jonathan:

“Are we safe from those kind of absurd laws that we saw in New Jersey and a couple other places?”

Cameron:

“I think that the law that we saw pop up in New Jersey, which which now requires licensing registration for all e-bikes in the state,
is maybe the best selling point for the approach that we’ve taken here in Oregon. Yeah, definitely finding ourselves playing defense to some extent and I don’t think that we’re necessarily safe.

This will allow local governments to regulate these devices in the ways that make sense to them. So anywhere where you’re expecting to see mixing with pedestrians and pedal cyclists, we felt that it was appropriate that local governments should have a say on how that mixing plays out.

There are also some new provisions set up that regulate the sale of e-bikes and micromobility devices. If a device is capable of going faster than 28 miles per hour, it would be illegal to sell it as a micromobility device in Oregon. The same goes for an e-bike, right? If a device is capable of going faster than 28 mph or faster than 20 with a throttle, then it would not be legal to sell that device as an e-bike in Oregon — because that would be a deceptive marketing practice. The way that the statute is set up is that there’d be a $250 fine per vehicle sold in that manner. And what we’re seeing in other states, California and Minnesota in particular who’ve have passed legislation to this effect, we’ve seen a wholesale change in the way that many retailers are marketing their devices. So it’s really just the threat of punishment that seems to be effective enough to elicit enough of a behavior change that the market shifts in the correct direction.”

Jobs of the Week: Mokwheel, eLock, Go By Bike, Velofix, Northwest Hub

Need a job? Want a better job? Just looking for a change? You are in the right place. Don’t miss these recent job announcements. (Remember, you can always stay abreast of jobs as soon as they get listed by signing up for our Job Listings email.)

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For a complete list of available jobs, click here.

Be the first to know about new job opportunities by signing up for our daily Job Listings email or by following @BikePortland on Bluesky

These are paid listings. And they work! BikePortland has helped hundreds of people find great jobs and great staff members. If you’d like to post a job on the Portland region’s most popular bike and transportation news platform, you can purchase a listing online for just $100. Learn more at our Job Listings page.

Job: Mechanic/Sales – The Northwest Hub

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Job Title

mechanic/sales

Company / Organization

The Northwest Hub

Job Description

The Northwest Hub is looking for someone with bike mechanic and sales experience who is enthusiastic and driven to do what’s needed – whether it’s customer repairs, refurbishing used bikes, stocking and organizing inventory, assisting with walk-in repairs and sales. This job is seasonal, beginning in April and running through September.

How to Apply

Send resumes to info@thenorthwesthub.org

Job: Senior Bike Mechanic (Rider Support Technician) – Velofix

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Job Title

Senior Bike Mechanic (Rider Support Technician)

Company / Organization

Velofix

Job Description

Are you a passionate cyclist with strong mechanical skills and a friendly, customer-focused mindset? Do you prefer tools over a desk, and enjoy being out in the community rather than stuck inside?

Velofix is seeking a Rider Support Technician to join our team. This role is much more than a traditional bike mechanic—it’s about representing our brand, providing exceptional service to the customer’s door, and operating an efficient and effective mobile shop!

As a mobile technician, you’ll be on the road with our state-of-the-art Mobile Bike Shop, visiting customers at their homes and workplaces. You’ll perform bike servicing and repairs, fittings, deliveries, and promote Velofix at local events—all while ensuring a premium customer experience.

Key Responsibilities:

Operate and maintain your Mobile Bike Shop van
Perform bike repairs, tune-ups, and fittings
Engage directly with customers in the field, delivering outstanding service
Make equipment or part deliveries as needed
Support and represent Velofix at local events
Communicate clearly and professionally with customers and internal teams
Manage daily schedules and service logs
What We Offer:

Top 10% Industry Pay: We benchmark compensation to ensure you’re among the best-paid in the market
100% of Gratuities: Any customer tips are yours to keep
Employee Discounts: Enjoy wholesale pricing on top brands and products
Tools & Uniforms Provided: We set you up with everything you need to succeed
Flexible Scheduling: Part-time and full-time shifts with weekend availability
[Portland listing is currently for Friday-Sunday, 30hrs available (3×10). 3x8hrs also ok if preferred].
Supportive Team Environment: Our internal support team is always ready to help you troubleshoot or handle logistics

What You Bring:
Strong mechanical knowledge.
A passion for cycling and a genuine desire to talk with people about it.
Self-motivated and dependable, with a strong sense of ownership and accountability.
A positive, professional, and team-first attitude.
Excellent communication and problem-solving skills.
Willingness to work occasional evenings or weekends (with advance notice).
Prior experience as a bicycle mechanic or technician is a must.
Ready to roll with us?
If you’re looking for a role where you can make an impact, work independently, and grow within a purpose-driven brand—Velofix might be the perfect fit.

Benefits:
Dental insurance
Employee discount
Flexible schedule
Health insurance
Paid time off

Experience:
Bike Mechanic: 3 years (Required)
License/Certification:
Driver’s License (Required)

How to Apply

Email resume to Will Bartlett (Western/Central Regional Manager)
william.bartlett@velofix.com
Or call 650-246-9540

Robotaxis will need to jump through these hoops before operating on Portland streets

The view from my first Waymo ride in Inglewood, California a few weeks ago. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

The Portland Bureau of Transportation wants to be ready for Waymo and the potential onslaught of autonomous vehicles. After the Google-owned company approached city officials last fall to share their desire to operate on our streets, PBOT realized it was time to update their administrative rules that govern the new form of transportation.

PBOT last dug into AVs in 2017 with the passage of their Smart Autonomous Vehicle Initiative, but a lot has changed in the industry since then. And with Waymo’s aggressive expansion plans — they recently raised $16 billion in venture capital and want to launch in 20 more cities this year — PBOT officials want strong local regulations that balance innovation with public safety. And simmering under all these conversations are Portlanders with strong feelings about AVs and city council members who are skeptical to say the least.

PBOT Mobility Innovations Section Manager Jacob Sherman (formerly the city’s e-scooter program manager) stopped by the Bicycle Advisory Committee last night to share the city’s stance on Waymo and hear from members what they think of AVs in general. He was joined by PBOT Transportation Planner Hannah Morrison.

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“We see automated vehicles as just the next evolution of this broader industry [of rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft], and we think that we need to get ready for it and have a conversation about what it could mean for Portland,” Sherman shared at the BAC meeting last night. Sherman said he was relieved a state bill that would have preempted local control of AVs died in the state legislature last month.

“We think these [AVs] should be regulated as for-hire vehicles — just like taxis and just like Uber and Lyft. And we need to maintain our local control to be able to do that,” Sherman said.

Like students getting ready for a big test, PBOT has been studying-up on AVs. In the past few months, PBOT officials have talked to over a dozen other cities to better understand the pros and cons that come with robotaxi services like Waymo. “We took pieces from other cities and tried to do this in a Portland way,” said Morrison, when explaining PBOT’s new draft rules.

Sherman describe the “Portland way” as, “Trying to propose a thoughtful, collaborative approach that could let companies come to market, but also do so in a way that kind of protects the broader public good.”

To be clear, PBOT isn’t anti-AVs. The benefits they see include: safety, more efficient traffic flow, a good option for folks who can’t drive themselves, and the fact that AVs give riders more time to themselves. But the perils loom large as well. PBOT is concerned about: how robotaxis will interact with other road users, the impacts on the job market, increased congestion (in California, about 40% of AV miles are without a passenger), who has access to the videos and photos the cars take, how AVs could induce sprawl, and so on.

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To stay in the driver’s seat when it comes to regulating AVs, Portland’s plan is to set a strong set of ground rules before any testing or operations begin. Here’s a general outline of the draft rule PBOT is seeking comment on (taken from a PBOT presentation to the BAC last night).

To understand companies’ intended operations, they must provide a description of the conditions they will operate under, including: time of day; environmental conditions (e.g. weather); and a description of restrictions on operations, including: speed of travel, roadway type, and a map of their intended operating area.

To ensure that the City permits safe companies and not possible bad actors, companies must: provide a statement of testing or deployment experience, comply with robust insurance and liability requirements, comply with all state and local laws (including traffic laws and parking regulations).

To ensure widespread access, AV companies must: provide reasonable accommodations to passengers with disabilities and host at least two public outreach events annually.

To ensure companies are supporting the City’s Vision Zero goal, they must: provide a Passenger Safety Plan; provide a First Responder Interaction and Disengagement Plan and host at least one in-person training annually; provide PBOT with copies of NHTSA collision reports; comply with all federal, state and local laws (including traffic laws and parking regulations); do not pick-up or drop-off passengers in a vehicle or bicycle lane; comply with federal AV requirements; submit documentation on annual vehicle inspections.

To ensure that companies are committed to data privacy and data sharing, they must: share trip level data with the City (like taxis, Uber and Lyft, BIKETOWN, e-scooters, and car-share); comply with the Oregon Consumer Privacy Act; submit a privacy policy showing how they will safeguard passengers’ information. AV companies should also work with the city to integrate our data about street closures, school zones, work zones, and first responder conflicts.

To ensure that AVs contribute to the City’s decarbonization goals: all AVs must be fully battery electric vehicles.

Standard private for-hire permit and per-trip fees will apply to for-hire AVs, just like taxis, Uber and Lyft. These fees support administration and maintenance and operations of transportation system.

Addition of a for-hire AV permit. To receive a permit for commercial operations, AV companies must either:

  • A) Start with a Portland AV Testing Permit and complete at least 500,000 automated miles across their fleet without their permit being suspended or revoked OR
  • B) Have tested/deployed in at least 5 other U.S. cities, have completed at least 500,000 automated miles, and have no permit suspensions or terminations in the U.S. in the last three years

Permits can limit fleet size. Permits can be suspended or revoked for noncompliance.

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The response from BAC members was mixed. One member, Alon Raab expressed serious concerns — both about basic things like safety (he doesn’t like that you can’t look robotaxi drivers in the eye when negotiating an intersection) and deeper societal issues the vehicles represent. “I find this technology alarming,” Raab said. “Six companies own the market. I don’t feel comfortable in a world where six companies own a market. It’s a philosophical issue.”

“This is a big question of what kind of world we want,” Raab continued. “And I don’t feel comfortable with this world where machines drive and don’t have any responsibility and where a few people make all the decisions.”

A Waymo in San Francisco. (Photo: Mike Liu/Flickr)

BAC member Sabrina Freewynn had a much different take. “I am a total supporter of autonomous vehicles. Absolutely love them,” she said. Freewynn, who’s ridden in a Waymo in Phoenix, said people need to get more familiar with them, “So I like that idea of having them tested in Portland.”

The issue of traffic law enforcement came up several times during the meeting. If a police officer wanted to issue a citation to an AV, how would that even work since there’s no driver to cite? Sherman with PBOT said, “Oregon law doesn’t answer that question right now. That’s a piece of law that needs to be clarified at some point.”

There remain many questions surrounding the future of AVs in Portland. That’s why you should pay attention and consider sharing your comments with PBOT. The comment period will be open through April 4th and there’s a public hearing today (Weds, March 11th) from 6:00 to 7:30 pm at the Portland Building downtown (Zoom also available). Learn more about the draft rule change and opportunities for feedback on PBOT’s website.