I'm just going to be real with you all. 2024 kicked our butts. 2025 will be our make it or break it year.
2024 was a critical year for us to get our tech stack in order, get rid of tech-debt, and rebuild to be able to handle all of the growth we have experienced. If we didn't rebuild, we were heading towards a cliff of data capping and systems going down. And we did rebuild!
We spent the best biking months of 2024 locked behind laptops working on rebuilding. We didn't stop at just rebuilding our tech stack either. In 2024, we rebuilt everything we've become well known for.
Here's a look back on what we accomplished in 2024 and what we're prioritizing for 2025
1. Our database collected 20,000 bike lane obstructions in 2024.
That's an all-time record for a single year. That's 20,000 instances of recorded dangers faced by bicyclists. We know that number is a small percentage of how often motorists and unsafe bike lane conditions are present but your reports help us chip away at the problem and bring awareness to the issue. View more
2. We increased City Pages by 3X
We now offer 36 dedicated City Pages and that number will continue to grow. View more
3. Almost 90 city map filters created!
Not only did we rebuild our maps in 2024 but we also built 6 times the amount of city filters!
All bike lane obstructions are mapped, but cities with a dedicated filter can see a near real-time breakdown of bike lane obstructions by category and see how those statistics compare to national averages as well as other comparable cities. Maps are automated and are updated every 3 hours. View more
4. We began working with the Illinois Secretary of State
We joined the Illinois Secretary of State to combat distracted driving as well as a variety of his initiates to pass laws making biking safer in all of Illinois. View more
5. We were named 1 of the top 8 biking orgs in North America by Momentum Magazine
6. We ran our first Advocacy Cohort
We built a 5 week curriculum that's best described as an MBA for leaders of bike advocacy organizations.
Topics included:
Building relationships with advocates from other cities
Effectively communicating with city/state officials
Advocating for policy/law changes
Advocating for infrastructure improvements
Growing a social media presence
Elevating bike-related issues in the media
How to grow BLU awareness
How to leverage BLU data
Bike light giveaways
Tips for building continuous momentum
7. Around 6,000 bike lights have now been funded for giveaways
Big thank you to everyone who has funded lights. We originally hoped to fund 100 sets of high-quality bike lights to give away. This program has provided us so much joy over the years and we cannot believe how much its grown.
In 2024, we restructured our bike light program allowing it to continue to grow.
We formalized how individuals can apply to be a bike light lead for their city.
We grew our bulk bike light sale program.
We worked through upgrading our lights to be USB-C compatible. Many phones and electronics are transitioning to USB-C charging which means it will be even easier for folks to find compatible cords on the go and keep our lights charged. In 2025, we will be converting all lights to USB-C.
In 2024, our lights were sent to these cities for giveaways:
Los Angeles
Long Beach
Columbus
Chicago
Minneapolis
Fitchburg
Richmond
8. We continued to grow our platform across the US and Canada
We hosted in-person and virtual events across the US and Canada. The more our platform grows, the more we are able to link our data on a national level to our Uprise platform.
Thank you to everyone who invited us to speak in 2024:
Nashville
Columbus
Lexington
San Diego
Chicago
Long Beach
Toronto
9. We continued to support families & friends who lost loved ones to road violence
We continued helping families through legal proceedings, honoring their loved ones with ghost bike memorials, and navigating the media.
10. We re-developed our reflective jacket
It's been 2 years since we manufactured our jackets. We've had a wishlist of enhancements we've wanted to include. In 2024, we put pen to paper and created mock-ups of those enhancements. We then reviewed those designs with bicyclists and got feedback, which helped us iterate on the design and prioritize features.
These enhancements required us to find a more advanced manufacturer and develop the jackets from the ground up. We're a few samples in and have kicked off pre-orders. View more
11. Three of our volunteers were hit while biking to and from advocating for safer Chicago biking infrastructure
No less than 3 of our volunteers were hit within just a couple of weeks - all while coming and going to advocate for making Chicago streets safer for bicyclists. One of them woke up in the hospital.
It feels like it’s just a matter of time before one of us are killed biking. View more
Our Goals for 2025
1. Again, this is our make it or break it year
From it's inception as a passion project, Bike Lane Uprising has primarily been funded by our founder - for over 7 years. The platform has grown so much larger than we could have ever expected and we've tried our hardest to keep it going for as long as possible. We need to find ways to sustainably fund our growth or we run the risk of not existing.
2. Keep growing the platform nationally
The more our platform grows, the more we are able to link our data on a national level to our Uprise platform.
3. Continue developing the Uprise platform
Through bike lane obstructions submitted by all of you, we have seen a correlation between companies who obstruct bike lanes and them later being involved in injuring or killing bicyclists. Uprise is our initiative to help address address unsafe driving behaviors within companies before there is a tragedy.
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ABOUT UPRISE
The Uprise online data portal is a new tool for companies to improve their fleet safety - and reduce their insurance costs!
Its easily digestible safety reports—drawn from billions of data points including crashes, inspections, violations, and proprietary user contributions—give fleet managers a comprehensive view of their drivers’ behavior.
Fleet managers can access can quickly compare their safety scores against regional and national averages as well as how they rank against their competitors. Our safety reports help fleet managers shorten feedback loops with drivers.
SERVICES
● Data portal access
● Annual, monthly, & weekly reports
● Driver safety training courses
● Tailored consulting to improve safety scores and reduce insurance costs
