Bike For A Healthy California

An Interview with David Bodick

We recently got to chat with David Bodick, from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and ask him some questions about the California Bike Plate initiative of which we are a proud partner.

Can you tell us how the idea for the California Bike Plate came about?

When vacationing in Steamboat Springs, I noticed a license plate, with a road biker on it, with the caption “Share the Road”.  Taking a closer look, I noticed it was a Colorado plate. I thought, how cool, we need one of those in California.

Do you know how many other specialty plates there currently are and how much they raise for the causes they support?

There are 23 other states with bicycle theme license plates. To our knowledge, not one incorporates the public private partnership this license plate represents. Depending on the state, funds run from a few thousand dollars a year to a few hundred thousand per year. We think California has the potential to raise two to three million dollars a year to support the program as there are more than 400,000 cycling enthusiasts in the state.

Can you tell our readers who will benefit from the California Bike Plate?

The Bicycle License Plate will generate funds for a grant program to do physical activity and related programing in partnership with statewide coalitions, community-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, schools and schools and city/county health departments.

What is the cost? How is this different than a regular license plate?

A sequential bike plate for the consumer, one that is issued with standard letters and numbers, is $50.00 more than a usual plate. It has an annual renewal of $40.00 with vehicle registration. 

A personalized bike plate, with a meaning or message, initially will cost $103 with a renewal of $83.00 with vehicle registration. 

The Department of Motor Vehicles gets an initial $400,000 to put the plate into their system, assign number coding and other behind the scenes logistics. The Bike Plate program will collect most of its money from the renewals at registration. Which has huge potential. 

How many more plates do you need to have pre-ordered to see this go through?

We need California cyclists of all types to pre-order 6,800 more plates to launch the grant program.  

What is the deadline for the pre-orders?

We want to get this done by September of this year.  So, if a person is interested, I encourage them to pull the trigger, pre-order a plate and help their own cause when on a bike. 

Pre Ordered Plates Here