Philly Bike Action

What Philly Bike Action does

Philly Bike Action is an all-volunteer 501(c)(4) nonprofit social welfare organization founded in April 2023 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its mission is to expand the city's network of physically protected bike lanes and to advocate for safer street designs through grassroots organizing, direct action campaigns, petitions, and policy advocacy. The organization serves Philadelphia cyclists and pedestrians affected by traffic safety issues, operating across multiple City Council districts with active organizers, monthly district meetings, and a Discord-based online community.

The organization's core technology platform is a custom web application built with Django and Wagtail CMS, hosted on Digital Ocean, with the source code published to a public GitHub repository. The product surface includes a campaign petition system, an events calendar, an RCO (Registered Community Organization) finder for locating City Council districts, and Laser Vision, a proprietary mobile tool that automates reporting of bike lane, crosswalk, and sidewalk obstructions to the Philadelphia Parking Authority's Mobility Access Violation form. Laser Vision captures date, time, location, and vehicle make/model, and includes automatic redaction of license plates and faces before submission.

Philly Bike Action's business model is nonprofit social welfare fundraising: 100% of funding comes from individual donors contributing a median $10/month, with no grant money received. The organization is entirely volunteer-run with no paid staff, governed by a Board of Directors elected by members. Average monthly expenses are approximately $1,053, allocated across projects and campaigns (52%), meeting space (23%), tech infrastructure (11%), supplies (10%), and other (5%). Geographic scope is explicitly limited to Philadelphia city limits.

Name

Philly Bike Action

Legal name

Philly Bike Action

Website

https://bikeaction.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Philly Bike Action is a Philadelphia-based, all-volunteer 501(c)(4) advocacy organization founded in 2023 that campaigns for protected bike lane infrastructure and street safety through district-based organizing, petitions, and a Django/Wagtail-built platform including the Laser Vision obstruction-reporting tool.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Bicycle Infrastructure Advocacy

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

akta.pro primary industry

Bicycle Programs & Bike Share (Parking, Repair, Rentals) (EDALAKAE)

Keywords

• Bicycle infrastructure advocacy
• Protected bike lanes
• Grassroots civic organizing
• Traffic safety campaigns
• Urban mobility nonprofit

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: 100% of funding comes from individual donors contributing a median donation of $10/month. All donations are unrestricted and fund operations including meeting space rentals, tech infrastructure, supplies, and project materials. PBA does not receive any grant money.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Philly Bike Action is an all-volunteer 501(c)(4) nonprofit advocacy organization that campaigns for the expansion of physically protected bicycle infrastructure in Philadelphia. It operates a community organizing platform through its website and Discord, runs petition and direct action campaigns, and provides tools such as Laser Vision for reporting bike lane obstructions to the Philadelphia Parking Authority.

Product overview

Philly Bike Action operates a grassroots advocacy platform built around a Django/Wagtail-powered website that serves as the central hub for organizing, campaigns, and member engagement. The core offering includes the main website platform, Laser Vision (a bike lane obstruction reporting tool), RCO Finder (a district/RCO locator), campaign petition system, events calendar with calendar subscriptions, and resource directories. The organization functions as an all-volunteer 501(c)(4) nonprofit with district-based organizing teams and project leadership structures, focusing on protected bike lane advocacy and street safety campaigns in Philadelphia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Laser Vision A purpose-built smartphone-accessible web tool that automates the data capture and submission of bike lane, crosswalk, and sidewalk obstruction reports to the Philadelphia Parking Authority's Mobility Access Violation form. Records date, time, location, and vehicle make/model, with automatic redaction of license plates and faces from images and data sent to the PPA. Used by Philadelphia residents to report bike lane obstructions.
• RCO Finder A custom web-based tool that allows Philadelphia residents to find their City Council District and Registered Community Organizations (RCOs) for any address, facilitating grassroots organizing by neighborhood and connecting residents to local advocacy structures.
• Campaign Petitions An online petition platform supporting advocacy campaigns targeting bike lane installation, safety improvements, and infrastructure changes. Includes petition forms, signature tracking, and comment systems used to mobilize residents and demonstrate community demand to city officials.
• Events Calendar A community events listing platform that includes district meetings, advocacy events, protest rides, and memorials. Supports calendar subscription via Google Calendar, Outlook 365, Outlook Live, and Apple Calendar. Used by Philadelphia residents to find and register for advocacy events.
• PBA Website Platform The central web platform for Philly Bike Action serving as the hub for campaigns, petitions, events, member management, and organizing activities. Built with Django and Wagtail CMS and hosted on Digital Ocean. Provides account creation, petition signing, event registration, donation processing, and access to advocacy tools including Laser Vision.

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Bicycle Coalition of Greater PhiladelphiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPhiladelphia's oldest bicycle advocacy organization. Co-signer on PBA's West Market Street safety petition. Offers connections, tools, resources, and event calendar for the cycling community.
• Families for Safe Streets Greater PhiladelphiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConfronts traffic violence and its epidemic of tragic injuries and deaths, advocating for life-saving changes and providing support to those affected by deadly crashes. Co-signer on West Market Street petition.
• 5th Square (Urbanist PAC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPhilly's urbanist political action committee advocating for better transportation, land use, and public spaces. Co-signer on West Market Street petition.
• PA Safe Roads PACminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonpartisan political action committee aiming to introduce traffic safety legislation that improves safety for people walking, biking, rolling, and driving. Co-signer on petition.
• Transit Forward PhillyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTransit advocacy organization. Co-signer on West Market Street petition. Co-sponsored 24 Hours on Transit event listed on PBA events page.
• PATHSminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization co-hosting memorial events (e.g., Dr. Barbara Friedes memorial) with PBA.
• University City DistrictminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRepresents University City area stakeholders. Co-signer on West Market Street petition addressing safety near Drexel, UPenn, and 30th Street Station.
• Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA)coreTechnology or IntegrationGovernment agency receiving automated obstruction reports via Laser Vision. PBA built integration with PPA's Mobility Access Violation online form.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia: Philadelphia's oldest bicycle advocacy nonprofit, focused on better biking through education, advocacy, and community events. PBA's most established local ally and co-signer on the West Market Street petition, operating the same geographic niche with a broader urban-mission remit.
• Transportation Alternatives: NYC-based 501(c)(3) advocacy organization pushing for safer streets, better bike infrastructure, and reduced car dependence. Closest analog to PBA in mission (protected bike lanes, direct action, member-driven organizing) and operating model; functions as PBA's NY equivalent at much larger scale.
• Families for Safe Streets Greater Philadelphia: Volunteer-led advocacy group confronting traffic violence and supporting crash victims. Co-signs PBA petitions and shares the grassroots, member-supported advocacy playbook, though focused on pedestrian/Victim-of-crash advocacy rather than infrastructure expansion.
• Active Transportation Alliance (Chicago): Chicago-based advocacy coalition promoting walking, biking, and transit as alternatives to driving. Same advocacy playbook (direct action, coalition petitions, policy campaigns) applied to a different Midwestern city; transferable model for PBA's expansion ambitions.
• 5th Square: Philadelphia's urbanist political action committee advocating for better transportation, land use, and public spaces. Co-signer on PBA's West Market petition; operates as a PAC rather than 501(c)(4) but shares overlapping active-transport agenda and donor base.
• Bike New York: NYC-based nonprofit running the Five Boro Bike Tour plus year-round education and advocacy programs. Functions as PBA's Gotham counterpart with a similar hyper-local NYC focus, education emphasis, and volunteer-driven operations.

Broad incumbents

• Rails-to-Trails Conservancy: National nonprofit dedicated to converting rail corridors into active-transportation trails. Shares PBA's protected-infrastructure mission but operates across thousands of miles of multi-use trail rather than urban bike lanes; useful external-resource list partner.
• PeopleForBikes: National bicycle advocacy nonprofit (formerly Bikes Belong) focused on policy reform, infrastructure investment, and industry coalition-building. PBA's national-level equivalent in mission, though funded by industry and foundations rather than grassroots donors.
• League of American Bicyclists: National 501(c)(3) umbrella advocacy organization for bicycling across the U.S., running the Bicycle Friendly America program. Operates broader than PBA's hyper-local focus, but advances the same pro-infrastructure policy agenda at federal and state levels.

Emerging players

• Streetsblog USA: National nonprofit news outlet covering the complete-streets movement, frequently amplifying local advocacy groups including PBA's campaigns. Functions as media partner and amplification channel for PBA's Philadelphia infrastructure fights.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/PhillyBikeAction
• Xx.com/phlbikeaction
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/philly-bike-action

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Philly Bike Action