B.O.C.A: Bicyclists Organizing for Community Action
Bicyclists Organizing for Community Action (BOCA) represents BNB’s youth-led transportation justice advocacy efforts. Through this work, BNB’s paid Youth Apprentices build leadership skills while advancing transportation equity in their own communities.
Since 2010, our BOCA initiatives have provided opportunities for youth to work with residents to advance mobility justice – with a focus on the bicycle as a sustainable, affordable mode of transportation for all. In 2025, BNB is activating our already robust community through events, campaigns, and community meetings to advance our transportation equity goals, including:
- Safer Streets: Advocating for improved infrastructure
- Bikes For All: Getting free bikes and free bike repair services to people in our target communities
- Wheels to Wellness: Providing opportunities for people to learn to ride and to ride together. More details coming in the summer!
Read more about our initiatives and events below.
Safer Streets
2025 Community Meetings
We’re excited to launch our 2025 series of Community Meetings & Transportation Forums at Bikes Not Bombs! This is your chance to share your insights on biking, infrastructure, and safety in Boston. Guiding this work will be a team of advocates, leaders, and community members comprising our Community Advisory Council (CAC), working alongside BNB staff and Apprentices.
Our Community Meetings and Transportation Forums are open to all, so save the date and come join us! Our upcoming meetings are scheduled for:
- Wednesday May 14th, 6 to 8pm: Please RSVP by May 12th
- Wednesday June 25h, 6 to 8pm
- Wednesday August 27th, 6 to 8pm
- Wednesday December 10th, 6 to 8pm
Questions? Reach out to BOCA@bikesnotbombs.org
Community Advisory Council
What is the Community Advisory Council?
The Community Advisory Council (CAC) will serve as a platform for community members to share their insights, experiences, and ideas regarding biking, infrastructure, and safety in our city. Council members will work alongside Bikes Not Bombs staff to provide feedback on our projects, identify key issues affecting our community, and help guide our advocacy strategies.
Why Join?
- Attend monthly meetings at Bikes Not Bombs to organize alongside BNB staff, Youth Apprentices, and volunteers like yourself;
- Work collaboratively on community organizing campaigns to support transportation equity in Boston and beyond;
- Stay involved as a Council member for a one-year term;
- Support our initiatives with insight on best practices in community organizing, advocacy, youth development, and more.
How to Apply:
You can view the application here; submissions will be reviewed on a rolling basis and selected candidates will be contacted to schedule a 15-minute virtual interview.
Questions? Reach out to BOCA@bikesnotbombs.org
Bikes For All
What does "Bikes for All" mean?
Our mission is to use the bicycle as a vehicle for social change to achieve economic mobility for Black and other marginalized people in Boston and the Global South. We work to ensure that all people have access to a bicycle, an affordable, sustainable, and reliable form of transportation that unlocks opportunities. When people have access to a bicycle, they have access to jobs, school & after-school programs, grocery stores, and more.
Under our "Bikes for All" campaign, we enable access to bikes and bike repair for all by:
- Providing bikes to people who need them. Used bikes are refurbished by our paid Youth Apprentices to best suit the needs of the recipient;
- Hosting free bike repair pop-up events in our target communities;
- Opening our doors to provide access to tools and advice for DIY repairs at Tool Time events; and:
- Shipping thousands of bikes to our partners in the Global South.
History: Local & Global
Giving bikes to people who need them is at the core of our mission and our history: BNB began in 1984 by shipping bikes to aid workers in Nicaragua when the country was experiencing civil war. To date, we've shipped over 84,000 bikes to our partners in the Global South. When the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020, BNB joined a nation-wide network of bike shops & non-profits in a 'Bike Match' initiative, matching bikes with frontline workers who needed safe and reliable ways to get to work. Five years later, the network is on pause, and our Bike Match efforts still continue as we provide bikes to individuals in Boston — now under the umbrella of "Bikes for All."
Questions? Reach out to BOCA@bikesnotbombs.org