Beginning Monday, a bike may be only a click away.
The Student Association-funded bike share program, which is expected to open on Earth Day Monday, will allow students to rent bicycles on campus.
Registration to take out a bike will be online and free of charge. Once registered, students can get a key from the information desk in the New University Union for one of the seven “hybrid commuter” bikes locked underneath the upper level of the Engineering Building.
The Office of Outdoor Pursuits provided the bicycles, which will be available from 12 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Once a student takes a bike out, they have until the office closes to return it.
The Intellectual Decisions on Environmental Awareness Solutions (IDEAS) club created the program.
Ryan McTiernan, co-creator of the program and a senior majoring in political science, said that the seven bikes are only the first stage of the program.
“More than anything, this is a pilot program to show that students want a bike share program on campus,” McTiernan said. “It will no doubt expand if students prove that to be correct.”
Devan Tracey, co-creator of the program and a senior majoring in mechanical engineering, said that other SUNY schools — including Buffalo, Stony Brook, Albany and Cortland — already have successful bike share programs, some of which are electronic and automated.
“For future phases, we are proposing it as a senior design program so the system will all be electronic and you will be able to scan or swipe your ID card on the bike and the lock would pop open, so there is no need for going to a desk to get a lock,” Tracey said. “Hopefully you’ll be able to track down where the closest bike is via an app or a website and see where the closest bike is.”
In the program’s initial stage, students will only be able to borrow and return bikes at the New Union. However, students will be able to lock the bikes anywhere they want while they have it.
The Student Association’s funding for the program covers repair parts, helmets, locks, safety flags and reflectors. But Tracey and McTiernan are unsure whether the Student Association’s standard insurance for chartered clubs will cover the bike share program, or if it will have to purchase its own insurance plan, which would dramatically increase its costs.
IDEAS club members have created a user-based system to protect the bikes from theft and damages. The student who last used the bike will be held accountable for any reported problems.
Julian Gilbey, an undeclared freshman who lives in Mountainview College, does not think the bikes would be useful for him.
“If there was a rack of bikes in Mountainview, so I could take one out and ride it to class or another community like Newing and drop it off at another rack there, that would be awesome,” Gilbey said. “But the Union is kinda in the middle of everything and near the classes I would be going to anyway. I would definitely use it if it expanded to other parts of campus though.”
William Costa, a freshman majoring in mechanical engineering, said he would use the bikes in lieu of his own, which would be stuck at home.
“On the rare nice day at Binghamton, I would ride to [University Plaza] or something to get food or go shopping and stuff like that,” Costa said. “I would bring my own bike up but that’s a huge hassle.”
Chris Zeoli, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering, looks forward to having bikes on campus.
“I think it’s a good idea,” Zeoli said. “I know we already have the car system but this seems like it could be less complicated and more convenient. I’ll be the first to utilize the bikes.”