As the year wraps up, the team at MassBike has been reflecting on the consistent efforts our movement has been making, and how much bicycle advocacy is really about providing capacity to adapt in order to keep moving forward, pedal by pedal. This year wasn’t defined by one big win, but by steady progress—conversations, commissions, community rides, local meetings, classes, and all the small actions that add up over time and reach individuals where they are day after day, month after month. The end of the year affords us the chance to step back to look at the arc of the work, and it’s clear that in 2025, across Massachusetts, more people are choosing bikes, focusing on pushing ahead with local projects, and that shift is changing how our streets are used and who they work for.

Of particular note is how “micromobility”—particularly the lower-speed e-bikes—has continued to open up possibilities for more people to choose biking for their daily trips. Much of this is thanks to incentive programs lowering the costs for riders across the state, and making bicycling affordable to thousands of new riders. This follows our exciting e-bike grant program in Worcester County that wrapped up this year, and it’s exciting to see how e-bikes, cargo bikes, and other low-speed options are opening up biking to all kinds of riders. These tools make longer trips possible, lower transportation costs, relieve congestion, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and give people more flexibility and independence in how they move. Along with increasing access to e-bikes, MassBike is also participating on the State’s Micromobility Commission whose work is focused on making sure policies, regulations, infrastructure, and innovation keep pace, so this technology is safe and treated as a legitimate part of the transportation system—not an afterthought.

Education remains at the heart of everything we do. Whether it’s teaching new riders how to navigate traffic, helping drivers better understand people biking, or working with communities to build confidence on the street, education is where culture change really happens. In 2025 we continued our partnership with the Registry of Motor Vehicles to build a curriculum to be delivered in every driving school in Massachusetts, something we are looking forward to rolling out early in the new year. We expanded our Safe Routes to Schools offerings to include a bicycle fleet, so we can get real behind-the-handlebars training for students. And we are working with trails groups across Massachusetts to build an etiquette toolkit to help mitigate conflicts of trail users, which is especially important as we are seeing new users at varying speeds all sharing the same space. Through this work, we see how sharing practical skills and clear information can turn, and comfort into everyday riding.

Since transportation issues affect every single one of us, the major issue of street safety is what connects it all. Whether or not we travel by bike, we know that better bicycling infrastructure makes roads safer for all people. But the work can be slow and arduous, and staunch advocates keep at it with the understanding that changes to our roads take persistent efforts—they’re the results of intentional design, strong policies, and consistent advocacy. This year we saw bicycling at the ballot box, where issues related to safer streets were a prevalent topic, fed by a narrative of conflict from the media, especially for local elections. We know we are far from our goal of zero deaths on our roadways in Massachusetts, and so we’re proud that, in the biggest cities with the most work to do, in many of our contentious elections, we saw voters overwhelmingly reaffirm their support for candidates seeking progressive changes. With the right leadership in place, we can pursue changes that protect vulnerable users, encourage “mode shift”, and prioritize people over speed. Each bike lane, each safer intersection, each new crossing and calmer street makes a real difference, especially for kids, seniors, and people who are new to biking.

And none of this work would happen without our incredible staff and partners. Your engagement, whether you are a donor, an advocate, a community organizer, or a rider, gives us momentum to achieve real gain. In 2025, our partners across the state co-hosted community events, invited us to lead classes, donated bicycles for our fleet, joined us in public comment and State House actions, and provided wisdom and guidance as we navigated the challenges to bring better bicycling to your community. Thank you!

This year MassBike also grew our capacity by bringing on staff to fill new roles, and transitioned current staff to meet the changing needs of the organization. Along with our volunteer board, our staff works every day as a team with such dedication, creativity, and persistence, that it’s no wonder why we have the strongest organizational trajectory in MassBike’s 48-year history. And we collectively build this partnership with our agency, legislative, and community allies that help hone our craft by collaborating on shared outcomes.

So, as we head into the new year, it’s nice to say that I am truly hopeful of our successes because of the people behind this movement and the shared belief that everyone deserves to feel safe and welcome out on their wheels. Here’s to another year of progress powered by people, persistence, and the simple belief that every ride can help change our streets for the better.

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