News: Campuses Step Up Bike Sharing Programs
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Sep 23, 2010, 8:28:17 AM9/23/10
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http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-09-21-college-bike-sharing_N.htm
Bike-sharing programs spin across U.S. campuses
Illustration Omitted:
Jason Dallam, left, adjusts a bike Blake Bodendorfer checked out for the semester from Drury University on Aug. 30. By Bob Linder, Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader
By Didi Tang, USA TODAY
Drury University junior Garret Shelenhamer ditched his car and gets to his classes and volunteer commitments using a shiny, new bike provided by the school.
Shelenhamer, 20, is one of a number of students across the USA taking advantage of free or low-cost bike sharing programs, which have become increasingly popular. Drury students agreed to pay a $20-a-year sustainability fee, which funds the bike program. The Springfield, Mo., school purchased 40 new bikes for use by students in time for the fall semester.
"It's helped me so much," Shelenhamer said. "It's been fun."
Nearly 90 American universities, from New York University to the University of Alaska-Anchorage, offer some form of campus bike program, according to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
Programs have launched or will launch this year at a wide range of universities, including Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville; John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio; the University of Cincinnati; Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C.; Samford University in Birmingham, Ala.; Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J.; and North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C.
"The demand is coming from students," says Jeremy Friedman, manager of sustainability initiatives at New York University. This summer, NYU kicked off a pilot bike share program with a fleet of 30 bikes available for free checkout from the front desks of many residence halls.
Fueling the demand are the public embrace of biking culture, new miles of bike lanes and the economic recession that has many tightening their spending, Friedman says.
"In the future, we may find ourselves in the role of trying to encourage more biking, but for now, we are behind the demand," he says. "We're just trying to keep up."
Wendy Anderson, director of campus sustainability at Drury, says the bike program appeals to students, who are active and likely to grumble about costs associated with a car.
"I think universities are trying to keep up with the increasing competitive nature of higher education," Anderson says. "I'm not saying this is a recruiting tool, but it offers a richer experience in student life."
At the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minn., students came up with the idea for a bike program and made it a reality in April, college spokeswoman Diane Hageman says.
The program offers 30 bikes for free, daily checkout until the first snowfall, Hageman says.
Paul Rowland, executive director of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, says bike programs have found fertile soil on college campuses.
"One thing about the campus is it has a fairly high density of individuals, students as well as staff. It is relatively defined, and there are a lot of movements every hour or every half an hour," he says.
Bikes help alleviate traffic congestion, improve campus safety and reduce greenhouse gas emission, Rowland says.
In 2008, faced with a parking crisis, the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine, raised parking permit fees and began to give away free bikes to freshman students who promised not to bring cars to campus, university spokeswoman Kathleen Taggersell says.
Since then, the university has given out 530 bikes and, as a direct result of the program, turned a 95-space parking lot into a basketball court with a river-view tent for university events, Taggersell says.
Bike-sharing programs spin across U.S. campuses
Illustration Omitted:
Jason Dallam, left, adjusts a bike Blake Bodendorfer checked out for the semester from Drury University on Aug. 30. By Bob Linder, Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader
By Didi Tang, USA TODAY
Drury University junior Garret Shelenhamer ditched his car and gets to his classes and volunteer commitments using a shiny, new bike provided by the school.
Shelenhamer, 20, is one of a number of students across the USA taking advantage of free or low-cost bike sharing programs, which have become increasingly popular. Drury students agreed to pay a $20-a-year sustainability fee, which funds the bike program. The Springfield, Mo., school purchased 40 new bikes for use by students in time for the fall semester.
"It's helped me so much," Shelenhamer said. "It's been fun."
Nearly 90 American universities, from New York University to the University of Alaska-Anchorage, offer some form of campus bike program, according to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
Programs have launched or will launch this year at a wide range of universities, including Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville; John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio; the University of Cincinnati; Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C.; Samford University in Birmingham, Ala.; Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J.; and North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C.
"The demand is coming from students," says Jeremy Friedman, manager of sustainability initiatives at New York University. This summer, NYU kicked off a pilot bike share program with a fleet of 30 bikes available for free checkout from the front desks of many residence halls.
Fueling the demand are the public embrace of biking culture, new miles of bike lanes and the economic recession that has many tightening their spending, Friedman says.
"In the future, we may find ourselves in the role of trying to encourage more biking, but for now, we are behind the demand," he says. "We're just trying to keep up."
Wendy Anderson, director of campus sustainability at Drury, says the bike program appeals to students, who are active and likely to grumble about costs associated with a car.
"I think universities are trying to keep up with the increasing competitive nature of higher education," Anderson says. "I'm not saying this is a recruiting tool, but it offers a richer experience in student life."
At the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minn., students came up with the idea for a bike program and made it a reality in April, college spokeswoman Diane Hageman says.
The program offers 30 bikes for free, daily checkout until the first snowfall, Hageman says.
Paul Rowland, executive director of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, says bike programs have found fertile soil on college campuses.
"One thing about the campus is it has a fairly high density of individuals, students as well as staff. It is relatively defined, and there are a lot of movements every hour or every half an hour," he says.
Bikes help alleviate traffic congestion, improve campus safety and reduce greenhouse gas emission, Rowland says.
In 2008, faced with a parking crisis, the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine, raised parking permit fees and began to give away free bikes to freshman students who promised not to bring cars to campus, university spokeswoman Kathleen Taggersell says.
Since then, the university has given out 530 bikes and, as a direct result of the program, turned a 95-space parking lot into a basketball court with a river-view tent for university events, Taggersell says.
University bike programs are usually funded by an internal grant or a student fee, Rowland says.
Bikes are checked out differently. Some programs require membership, some are free, and some charge a rental fee.
Though many schools rely on staff to check out bikes, some have gone high-tech. This fall, Washington State University in Pullman installed a $140,000 automated system for its bike program, says Jamie Bentley, the environmental well-being coordinator at WSU.
Students swipe their identification cards to unlock a bike from one of the four docking stations on campus, Bentley says. The convenience has drastically boosted the use of the program: 529 people checked out a bike in the first three weeks this fall, compared with 583 users in all of last year, Bentley says.
The convenience has drastically boosted the use of the bike program: 454 people checked out a bike in the first two weeks this fall, compared with 583 users last year, Bentley says.
Tang reports for the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader.
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