Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Bicycle Safety

Building an App to Help Neighbors Ride Together

Of all the ways to improve your bike commute, riding with a friend might be the simplest. Not only do you have someone to talk to at red lights, you also become more visible and therefore more safe. With that in mind, Transportation Alternatives is working on a new tech solution called Bike Buddy to help New Yorkers find someone to ride with.

The idea is to combine online mapping software with social networking -- Ride the City meets Facebook. You'd plug in your starting point and destination, and the software would show you the best route to take and recommend a partner to ride with. "Ride the City gives routes to cyclists and lets them choose a safer or a more direct route," said Caroline Samponaro, TA's bike director, but she wants to "beef it up and make it more exciting for people." Helping neighbors bike together could be that killer app. 

New York State currently runs a carpooling website, CommuterLink, that offers some bike-pooling assistance, said Samponaro. Bike Buddy would draw on TA and Ride the City's better understanding of bike culture. "Biking is so inherently social," said Samponaro, and Bike Buddy would build off that.

TA is still in the early stages of developing Bike Buddy. If the app goes live, Samponaro expects it to spread across the country. Cycling activists in cities across America have already expressed their interest, and TA says Bike Buddy can succeed as a national website.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

‘Treated and Streeted’: How The City’s Safety Net Fails Homeless People in the Subway

The Big Apple’s $30-billion social safety net cannot reliably get a homeless person in psychiatric crisis out of the subway and into a hospital bed, a Streetsblog investigation has found.

September 23, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines: ‘Not In My Back Yard’? ‘Yes, In Your Back Yard’ Edition

Our editor-in-chief joins the expert panel at the popular Upright Citizens Brigade's political comedy roundtable on Wednesday night. Plus other news.

September 23, 2025

How Trump’s Latest Multimodal Clawbacks Are Different — But They Could Still Devastate Communities

The latest attack on multimodal transportation is more brazen and destructive than ever before; the Trump administration is no longer hiding its disdain for walking and biking projects.

September 22, 2025

Agency Needs More Funding To Expand Delivery Worker Protections

The agency tasked with protecting city workers needs more money to implement recent laws passed to expand protections for delivery workers.

September 22, 2025

Zohran Mamdani On E-Bike Safety: Regulate App Algorithms, Not Workers

The presumptive mayor is joining the war against e-bikes ... on the side of the e-bikes.

September 22, 2025
See all posts