Colleges Giving Free Bikes to Students Who Promise to Leave Cars at Home

Students are finding a big incentive to leave their vehicles at home when they go away to college: a free bike.  And not a cheapo Wal-mart bike, either: the University of New England, for example, is offering its freshmen $480 bicycles to entice them into an easier, more eco-friendly option for getting around campus. It’s part of a new trend nationwide in which colleges and universities are finding ways to encourage bicycle transportation instead of cars, especially in schools where parking space comes at a premium.

From The New York Times:

The goal, college and university officials said, is to ease critical shortages of parking and to change the car culture that clogs campus roadways and erodes the community feel that comes with walking or biking around campus.

“We’re seeing an explosion in bike activity,” said Julian Dautremont-Smith, associate director of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, a nonprofit association of colleges and universities. “It seems like every week we hear about a new bike sharing or bike rental program.”

“We felt the campus could devolve to asphalt parking lots, and a lot of people didn’t want that to happen,” said Michael Daley, head of the university’s environmental council and a professor of economics.

The bikes are marked with each student’s name.

“I don’t have to fill it with gas, and it doesn’t hurt the environment,” said Kaitlyn Birwell, 18. “With a car, you need a parking permit, gas, and it breaks down. I’m a college student and don’t have the money for that.”

The program at the University of New England has so far been a great success: they handed out 105 bikes in the first week of school, and only 25 percent of freshmen brought cars with them this year compared to 75 percent last year.  Some schools are asking for donations of old bikes to fix up and offer students, while others are purchasing new mountain bikes, helmets and locks or partnering with bike shops to give students a discount.  Still others, like Emory, now have bike share programs that allow students to rent a bike at no charge at various spots on campus.

How awesome that this is catching on: it addresses the parking problem, reduces pollution, increases physical fitness and promotes a community feel.  Hopefully it will continue to spread across the country!

Link [The New York Times]
Photo credit: Flickr user PC Loadletter

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