Security offers new loaner bike program for students

As the weather grows frostier and snow prepares to cover icy paths, Vassar's bike-riding season draws to a close, ending the first semester of Vassar's new bike program. The revamped program offered by the Office of Safety and Security hopes to correct many of the problems with the old Shared Bike Program, commonly known as the Pink Bike program, while still offering a zero-cost option for bike riding on campus.

The Shared Bike Program was decertified by the Vassar Student Association last year. The program maintained a fleet of pink bikes that any student could unlock by purchasing a key at the beginning of each semester. The key would allow the student to ride any pink bike on campus.

"[The] primary reason for the change was lack of student interest to oversee the program. The Dean of the College [Chris Roellke] asked me to look into it and see what I could do to continue the program," said Director of Transportation Dennis Cody.

In addition to the lack of the student interest, another reason for stopping the program was students' poor upkeep of the bikes. "Too many students who signed up for the program by renting a key did not take care of the bikes when they left them at various locations on campus," said Cody. This meant that even when students found a pink bike it could be damaged. At the end of last year roughly half of the bikes were functional.

This was confirmed by Director of the Bike Shop Alexander Herman '12, who said, "I maintained the pink bikes last year, and many of them were completely destroyed because of students' disrespect of the whole system."

Added Cody, "The initial idea of riding a bike from point A to point B, sounded good, but many students were frustrated as the bikes were not there after they rode them, resulting in their having to walk back to their original location."

The new system, which loans a bike to each student, means that although it is no longer a communal program, students can be guaranteed to have a bike upon their return.

Said Mariesa Samba '13, "[The pink bikes] weren't too convenient, and never really around when you needed one. Also the pink bike idea, which I believe was meant to set the bikes apart from other students' bikes, didn't really work as well as one would hope," she said, referring to the distinctive color on the College's bikes.

Lauryn Tong '12 explained that as the number of bikes dwindled, people became more possessive of their bikes, which was indicative of a larger problem. "I used the bikes right up until they terminated the program. If there was anything I didn't like about the system, it was that it relied too much on people being completely altruistic, so basically what happened was a tragedy of the commons. Everyone wanted the perks of being able to get somewhere faster, but no one wanted to take the time to bring in broken bikes to the shop," she said.

In the end, it appeared that the $10 fee and student employment position dedicated to fixing the bikes was not enough to sustain the upkeep for all of the bikes.

"It's interesting to note that [other students] did have the time to hide them in very interesting places so other people wouldn't steal ‘their' ride while they were in a building. So, towards the end, it became more a matter of being lucky enough to find one that still functioned, which was a pretty slim chance, than it was about the original intention of sharing a set of bikes," Tong said.

The new system works to correct the issues inherent in the old system by increasing individual responsibility: each student is responsible for his or her own loaner bike, and students can no longer unlock all of the College's bikes on campus.

"It was my opinion that the students needed a more vested interest in taking care of the bike they were riding, so I evolved the Pink Bike program into a loaner bike program," said Cody.

Students may now sign up to receive a loaner bike and free lock to secure the bike. If the student loses the bike due to his or her own neglect the student will be billed $50 from the student's account.

In the new system students must return their bike before the beginning of Thanksgiving Break and can take the bike out again after Spring Break, which keeps the bikes off the paths during the snowy months.

Although the previous Pink Bike system was a student-run organization, many of the remaining pink bikes are being used in the new bike program. "What I found was that out of the original 40 bikes, we were left with about 20 bikes that were semi-operational," said Cody.

The Office of Safety and Security's bike patrol officers then fixed up the usable bikes for the beginning of the year and purchased the additional bikes needed from The Pleasant Valley Bike Shop.

Overall, students seem to be pleased with the changes made to the bike program. "We have 25 bikes now loaned out to our students who seemed very happy with the program for this academic year," said Cody.

"I like the new system better, because all bikes are individually assigned which means I'll have my bike whenever I need it. No one can use it without my knowledge," said Estra Aral '12.

This sentiment was shared by many students who used a bike provided by the Office of Safety and Security. "So far, I'm liking the current system much more than the former one. I don't have to worry about whether or not I'll have the extra five minutes to ask my professor a question in case someone took the bike I was going to use," said Tong.

"Also, I know that I'm held accountable for the bike I'm using, so there's a strong incentive to take good care of it, which I think was a pretty clever way of solving the issue that plagued the last system," Tong continued.

Accountability with the bikes has impressed many students using the new program.

"I like having a bike available at my own convenience," said Samba. "It's been really helpful in getting around campus. For the first half of the semester, I used it to get to my internship in Poughkeepsie."

The office also has plans for the program to grow in the coming semesters. "Each year we hope to expand our program by fixing up left behind bikes each year and fixing them up to be used as loaners. Also, we plan on purchasing a few more single-speed cruiser bikes in the spring to add to our numbers," said Cody.

Despite the program's general positive response, some students were sad to see the Shared Bike Program go. "I think it's unfortunate that we had to switch to the new Pink Bike system, because its not really shared at all, and I liked the fact that it was somewhat experimental in past years," said Herman.

In addition, other students did have some suggestions for improvements. "I think the duration of their availability could be extended. Right now, students are supposed to stop using their bikes by the end of November, so as not to expose the bikes to bad weather, but I think as long as the bikes aren't left outside for long periods of time, people should be allowed to use them to ride to their classes during the winter months too," said Aral.

Tong agreed, "I know the reason for disuse in the winter is to keep the bikes in good shape, but it'd be nice on those days that aren't so cold to be able to get places quickly."

Said Amy Cao '14, "Bikes are still in season right now and now I'm without one!"

For those students who prefer to have more flexibility when it comes to transportation by managing and owning their own bikes, the independently run Vassar Bikes Club maintains the Bike Shop.

The shop is located in the Strong House basement and is open from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursdays.

The Bike Shop was not associated with the Shared Bike Program while it was instated. Said Cody, "The bike shop operates independently of the loaner bike program as they assist all students on campus in fixing any problems with bikes. They are not involved in fixing the loaner bikes. Any problems our loaner bike students have with their bikes will be addressed by my department."

The students running the shop aim to help students who keep their personal bikes on campus should they have any mechanical issues.

"Earlier this semester, the shop did all right on numbers when we were open—it took us a while to get parts and get organized, so we started a little late. Some days it can be pretty non-stop; a lot of people blow flats, it seems. Now that it's getting colder, we see a lot less of people. The shop will probably run until the end of this semester, if for no other reason than that we can mess with our own bikes during our shifts," said Bike Shop worker Zeb Wimsatt '14.

Open for almost all of the year, the shop offers a wide range of low-cost services. The shop fixes flat tires by offering patches for about $5, and, for a bit more money, also provides more general tune-up and bike assembly. They also have a variety of bicycle parts for students who want to fix up their own bikes.

In addition to holding hours to help students repair their own bikes and even offering lessons on the subject, the shop also fixes and sells a few repaired bikes. "I usually build and sell/fix up about five bikes each year or less, so it's not a huge amount. The bikes we have in the shop are mostly parts of bikes that are too messed up to be rideable again," said Herman.

Those students who do choose to maintain their own bikes can also take advantage of the Office of Safety and Security's storage space for bikes. Students can avoid the challenges of taking their bikes home by housing them in the storage space for $20 per summer.

Regardless of how students decide to use bikes on campus, they can take advantage of the wide-ranging resources for those students who choose to get around on two wheels.