Bike Share Program Gains Support
Student Council is considering implementing a bike share program. Essentially, this will be a program where students can use community bikes to travel around campus and the surrounding area. Rachel Bell ‘10, StuCo president, said that there will be “bikes scattered all around campus, painted the same color, or with at least some type of logo so you know it’s part of the bike-share program. It will be a grab and go program.” Any student can grab a bike left outside Sharples and go to McCabe. However, there is no guarantee that the bike will be there when the student is finished. Any other student can take the bike to Kohlberg, Mertz, or to the Ville.
Swarthmore’s proposed bike share program bears some similarity to a bike share program launched this year at Carleton University. Unlike Swarthmore’s proposed program, Carleton students must deposit a ten dollar fee each year to participate in the program. Students can borrow bikes, helmets, and locks for 24 hours.
When asked if the Swarthmore proposal came from Carleton’s program, Bell said, “Well, honestly, I just thought it would be pretty cool. I like biking. I studied last year in Copenhagen, a real biking city with its own public bike share program. I learned about peer institutions having similar programs, and heard more details about Carleton’s program from my brother [who is involved with the program].”
The issue of security, however, remains a concern. StuCo is exploring options with Key Central to find the easiest, most secure solution. The bikes are intended to be used by Swarthmore students, so one option is attaching locks to all of the bikes and telling students the combination.
As of now, StuCo is unclear about where the funding for the program will come from. They are looking into various bike vendors to find the best deal. StuCo is also looking into buying bikes from Swarthmore Cycles. Bell said that once StuCo has a more formal proposal they will “go around to various offices and departments around campus with stated goals that relate to the goals of the program – be it sustainable living, student wellness, housing. We may even propose to SBC. Again, we want to have the logistics worked out and a written, detailed proposal before we ask for funds.” She noted that “an alumna and biking enthusiast saw the write-up in the Phoenix the other week, and contacted me about making a private donation to the program. So we’re off to a good start in terms of funding.”
If the bikes have mechanical issues, students would need to bring them to StuCo. StuCo will then collaborate with Chester Bike Works to repair the bikes. According to Jeff Cao, Chester Bike Works “can help build the bikes if they are ordered, can help maintain the bikes and can definitely help answer questions about bikes….Maybe it’ll be like Workbox,” said Cao.
Students seem to share StuCo and Chester Bike Works’ excitement for the launch of the program. “I think that would be a great idea. I would use it on a regular basis,” said Emily Rosen ‘13. Cecilia Osowski ‘10 agreed, saying that there are “definitely times I could use a bike to get five minutes across campus because I’m late.” With the growing support, it may not be long before the proposed bike sharing program becomes a reality.
Print
Email
#1: 11/2/2009 at 9:59 a.m.
It would definitely be nice to have bikes everywhere, but I'd worry about security under the proposed plan because bike theft happens ALL THE TIME here. First of all, if the combination locks all have the same code, it would be relatively easy to discover it (since people are often careless, and might leave them unlocked and set to the combo), and then steal a lot of bikes. Furthermore, it is possible that Swatties are also bike thieves, in which case the anonymity of picking up bikes would allow theft as well.
We should probably look in more detail at Carleton's, which seems to put more security measures in place. It would be an awful shame to spend thousands of dollars on bikes just to see them all disappear.
Actually, having googled a couple of articles about Carleton's, they mention that bikes are often damaged without people noticing. Since there is no incentive for a person to report a safety problem (it is a lot of trouble to do, with no personal reward), it seems likely that after a while, many unsafe bikes, like with no brakes, will be floating around.
— Andy Reid | Unregistered, Swarthmore
#2: 11/2/2009 at 10:54 a.m.
I really like the idea, but I see the issue you are raising up, mr. reid. Maybe we could have some accountability, so students will be required to sign in or out (swipe a card?) so we can keep a record of who is using each of the bikes.
Also, the Swat campus is small enough so that we can keep a space available (like a bike garage) where students can return damaged bikes and then Stuco/Chester bike works can pick up repair them.
— ladybughater | Unregistered, Swarthmore
#3: 11/2/2009 at 10:59 a.m.
I can definitely vouch for bike theft happening all the time; I even had a bike *seat* stolen when my bike was locked up near the train station.
Swiping a card, though, ladybughater? Much as it might help, we can't even get card-swiping at Renato's, you think they'll put them in bike racks?
— a student | Unregistered, Swarthmore
#4: 11/2/2009 at 11:50 a.m.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/31/world/europe/31bikes.html
It's a great idea, but we'd have to be prepared for a large percentage of the bikes to be damaged, stolen, or vandalized. Might end up being more money than it's worth.
— Katie | Unregistered, Swarthmore
#5: 11/2/2009 at 1:42 p.m.
I think it's a really great idea too, and worth trying out in a pilot scale. If it turns out that it's costing too much money, then we could discontinue. But since the campus is pretty small, I think bike theft wouldn't be as big of a problem if they were like, painted bright colors and stuff. I'm sure we could probably keep them away from ville rats by being discreet about the lock combo.
— Urooj Khan | Unregistered, Swarthmore
#6: 11/2/2009 at 2:12 p.m.
I think a lot of this stuff is still in the air... like really up in the air. It's good that it's a popular idea though.
And in my opinion, i think fixing bikes should be a paid job... Top pay scale! Because then it'll be faster. I'm sure the Lang Center could sponsor it.
Andy Reid! How dare you sit in front of a computer and write comments. Shouldnt you be losing weight?
— Matt Stafford | Unregistered, Swarthmore
#7: 11/2/2009 at 4:15 p.m.
I would disagree about the bike theft and lock combo. Bike theft happens all the time at Swat: I don't have enough fingers on my hands to count the number of times I've heard of bikes getting stolen, and that's just among my friends.
If they all have the same combo, then all it takes is one careless person who leaves the lock on the combination to ruin the security of the whole system. If Ville rats like to run around throwing eggs on Halloween, they'll love stealing and vandalizing bikes even more. I wouldn't bank on every Swattie being careful all the time. A better security system is necessary before we move forward with this.
I'd also like to point out potential liability issues. Drunk biking sounds fun, but is, unsurprisingly, pretty dangerous. It's even more dangerous when you leave bikes out in the elements and the brakes rust up. We should ask the Lang Center about this, they know tons about liability issues. Would there be helmets along with the bikes? And what about them getting lost? I just don't see a way to do it without sinking a ton of money into replacing parts, or keeping track of who has a bike at any time.
And Matt Stafford, you're just bitter because your team lost to the RAMS this week. Maybe you can get above a 50% completion rating next time? Enjoy watching as a second Georgia-based team loses this week (the Saints are going to rock the Falcons)
P.S. I will EAT you.
— Andy Reid | Unregistered, Swarthmore
#8: 11/2/2009 at 6:50 p.m.
Andy Reid, you have friends? And what makes you think I'm a Falcons fan? I'm going to play the rest of my career in Detroit...
And your point about the liability issues... I COMPLETELY AGREE. For the first time in my life actually, I won't argue with you. First of all, I don't think most people wear helmets. Second of all, I wouldn't want to put someone's else helmet on my head. Gross.
— Matt Stafford | Unregistered, Swarthmore
#9: 11/2/2009 at 8:08 p.m.
Bike Share is a cool idea. If it was executed right it would be nice symbol of our community's ability to share etc. etc. However, whats the benefit. As a bike rider, I can say the only trip you really need a bike is for on campus is ML, maybe woolman to sharples. The recent earthlust video contained the message "always ride your bike" or something like that, but really given that the other option at swarthmore is walking and not taking your rv from Alice Paul to Kohlberg, its really just green washing at best. In a city or a campus where people actually do drive from place to place this could make sense, but aside from being a fun project it really doesn't seem to be worth it.
— Jesse Hoff | Registered, Swarthmore
#10: 11/2/2009 at 11:52 p.m.
I tutor and babysit in the ville, and having a bike would be immensely helpful. It would also be great for going down the pike to Borders or the mall. And biking is just plain fun.
Another idea is that we can get locks with actual keys. People who register for the program (maybe with a nominal, $5ish fee to cover expenses and such) can each get a key and use that to unlock the bikes instead of combos.
Even though bikes get stolen all the time, I think it would be much harder to steal a bright neon yellow bike with "PROPERTY OF SWARTHMORE COLLEGE" written on it. Not saying it's impossible, but definitely makes it more difficult.
— Urooj Khan | Editor
#11: 11/2/2009 at 11:56 p.m.
I think that Jesse makes a good point: we don't really need the bikes for on-campus movement, but just for stuff like going to ML or the pike. Though Swat students are pretty lazy, so I don't know how much this would increase visiting the Pike. But I think this further makes the case for having some type of more secure system with check ins/outs, as the bikes are only necessary for more long haul-y trips.
Matt Stafford, you wish that you could go to Atlanta, unless, that is, you never want to get more than 3 wins. I mean 3 wins in your career, not in one season. Just wait until you face the Eagles. Trent Cole is going to sack you 1000 times, and Asante Samuel will get 5 interceptions to make up for the fact that he can't tackle.
Liability is serious business. I'm glad that we can agree on that. In fact, I'm liable to go eat a cheesesteak right now. No, make that three cheesesteaks. Good bedtime snack.
— Andy Reid | Unregistered, Swarthmore
#12: 11/2/2009 at 11:56 p.m.
Have your say.
— Andy | Unregistered, Swarthmore
#13: 11/2/2009 at 11:57 p.m.
It is pretty easy to spray paint a bike that you have stolen and resell it, though I don't know if ville rats have it in 'em. But again, I'm worried more about theft/vandalism then straight theft.
— Andy Reid | Unregistered, Swarthmore
#14: 11/3/2009 at 9:13 a.m.
The other issue with painting them is...
Old geezers that walk through the campus might not like the fact that there are ugly color bikes laying around... and I mean when you spray paint a bike... it is really really really ugly.
Just look around at campus, there's nasty chalking once in a while, but usually it has a pretty arboretum vibe do it. Putting neon bikes would mean that of changes in how the campus is perceived... especially for old geezers that donate all of their money.
— Matt Stafford | Unregistered, Swarthmore