Pirate Question and Answer

Q1. I read the Bike Pirates mission statement. Would you say that Bike Pirates is an anti-car culture movement? Would you say that car culture is the common "enemy" of Bike Pirates?

A: No one that comes into pirates can afford a car. We make betting around town easier for people who cannot afford public transit or a private automobile. Cars are my enemy; I will not stop until they are illegal in the streets of Toronto and other cities worldwide. It's a common anti-car movement. But there are pirates that are not harsh critics of cars because they want to bring drivers over to the idea of biking. In my view, less cars and more bikes on the street, the safer the streets will be. Car culture cannot be the enemy because it’s so big and everywhere, it will win at every turn.

Q2. When was Bike Pirates established?
A: July 2006 was the Pirates established

Q3. Bike Pirates is volunteer-run and organized. Does the organization have a defined structure? Is it centralized and hierarchical or decentralized and egalitarian? Do members have defined roles?

A: There is one defined role in Pirates, the pirate treasurer. The treasure takes care of finances. The Bike Pirates is ruled by consensus decision-making. You can call us a dis-organization. We can be considered an egalitarian system because we are trying to create a working system that functions outside the capital oriented system. We believe a better world is possible and we are not alone.

Q4. From where does Bike Pirates receive funding?

A: The sale of recycled bikes, the donations offered by people that come in and work on their bikes. By used parts sales, by fundraising events.

Q5. What tactics does Bike Pirates employ to achieve these goals?

A: We teach people how to function and maintain their own form of transportation. People are relying too much on professional expertise to run their life. They become specialized and lose touch with reality thus are reliant on a system of domination. Domination of the mechanic under unfair wages, dominated by the money needed to maintain their bicycle and the reality of being powerless.

Q6. Does Bike Pirates have alliances with other bicycle activists groups or other social movements?

A: Our allies are; Bike Chain, UofT's bike collective, paid for by the students, George that operates Parts Unknown in Kensington Market. We also owe allot to the Community Bicycle Network. ‘Volunteer only’ allows us to receive help from any and every source in the city.

Q7. What, if any, opposition has Bike Pirates encountered?

A: Other bike shops have seen us as a threat. They see us as debunking their business with teaching people how to do it them selves. I have talked it over to them, I approach them and say, the people that come to us can't pay for repairs on their bikes, so they come to us and work on it them self. The bike market is far from saturated; it’s hard to run a business because the money is unfair to labour practices. MORE BIKES HAVE BEEN SOLD IN AMERICA THEN CARS...FIVE YEARS IN A ROW. This stat does not tally recycled bikes.

Q8. What successes can Bike Pirates report?

A: Our accomplishments would be different to every pirate volunteer; we donate bikes to shelters, we give out free food, we sell bikes at the price of stolen bikes combating bike theft, we get people riding bikes for the first time, we are an active carbon sink, we are redefining the definition of a none profit organization.