Too tired to walk? Try two tires instead

Distributed throughout Utah State University’s Logan campus, clinging to bicycle racks and racing between buildings, students may soon notice 150 new members of the Aggie family — but this time, they’re mechanical and bright orange.

The new bike-share program implemented by Spin bike-share and Aggie Blue Bikes began officially Thursday. The new bikes will provide an alternate, speedier form of transportation around campus for students, faculty, staff and visitors alike.

“I am very hopeful that having this bike share will make more people realize how convenient riding a bike really is,” said Margaret McCarthy, the Aggie Blue Bikes program coordinator. “I think it’s going to be very beneficial to Logan and the university.”

Aggie Blue Bikes’ mechanic Nate Loveland teaches a student how to get her bike back into working order.

Bike-share programs on campuses and in cities are nothing new to the country as a whole. Between 2010 and 2016, over 88 million trips were taken on bike-share bicycles. 28 million were taken in 2016 alone, roughly the same amount of people that travelled via Amtrak, according to National Association of City Transportation Officials. At USU, the concept of implementing a bike-share has been in the works for about two years.

“It was originally proposed in our transportation master plan, a document that came from multiple different organizations on campus, looking at how students are getting to the university, getting to class, and what we can do to improve it,” McCarthy said.

The plan suggested a bike-share program could be beneficial to the campus community, and when the time came, Aggie Blue Bikes and university administration coordinated to implement the program through Spin, a San Francisco-based company that claims to be North America’s leading stationless bike-share company.

Spin runs all the costs and revenues for the program, making it a very “minimal investment” on USU’s part, vice president for student affairs James Morales said.

“There are no costs on our part, other than giving them access to the campus and our riders,” he said.

How it works

Spin bikes can be found at all bike racks on the Logan campus. Riders can access the bikes via QR code and an app for payment. Spin will charge $1 per hour spent with the bike, $0.50 every half-hour or unlimited 30-minute rides for $14 per month when signed up with an @.edu email address.

There are some rules for bike usage according to an email sent by the student affairs office to all students Wednesday. Spin Bikes must be parked at or within a few feet of a bike rack on the Logan campus and the bikes must also “live” on campus. Riding the bikes off campus is allowed, but bikes must be returned to a bike rack on campus by the end of the day. 

The email also provided students with a rundown of how to use the new program. Here’s how it works:

(1) Download the app by searching “Spin Bikes” on the app store and sign up with your .edu email address.
(2) Pull up the app and locate a bike nearby
(3) Scan the QR code on the bike to unlock it
(4) Start your ride
(5) Drop off and lock the bike by an existing bike rack.

Spin may charge account relocation fees for not following these rules.

“The Spin bike-share program fills another niche for students who, once they get to campus, whether by bus or carpooling, etc., now have an option to be able to use a bike for specific limits or purposes, to get from one side of the campus to the other,” Morales said. “Spin would be more supplemental for people in terms of their transportation needs around campus.”

The future of bike-sharing at USU

The bike-share program, however exciting, is beginning as simply a pilot project, Morales said. It’s intended to give data to the university, provide options to its riders, and get people around. If it is determined in November, when the pilot project expires, that Spin could provide a long-term beneficial service to the campus community, it can be expanded.

The orange bikes used in the Spin bike-share program, which launched Thursday, can be found anywhere on USU’s Logan campus.

“We’re thrilled to launch at Utah State University and to provide students, faculty and staff with an affordable, flexible way to get around campus,” said Matt Sink, head of campus operations at Spin. “As more people use Spin bikes, we’ll gather data and work closely with university officials to improve the campus infrastructure to meet the needs of riders.”

Bike lanes, paths and trails offer safer commutes for cyclists, but often cost cities and counties extra money, that may not be warranted if it cannot be proven that such trails would be used frequently enough.

“I am hopeful that with more people taking trips on bicycles, the city and the university will realize the infrastructure changes that need to be made, and we will have the support and the data to show there are a lot of people biking, and they need to be safe, feel comfortable, and ultimately keep on biking,” McCarthy said.

Even if there is not widespread ramifications as a consequence of the Spin bike-share program, university officials see only positive change as a result of its implementation.

“The university is very excited,” Morales said. “I think you’ll be seeing our president riding around campus on these.”

There are currently 150 bikes spread around campus and by May, Logan city is hoping to get Spin bicycles to go in the town as well, totalling around 300 more opportunities for residents and visitors alike to get rolling.

“I am really excited to see more butts on bikes,” McCarthy said. “That is Aggie Blue Bikes mission, and I’m glad we were able to bring this program to Logan and the university.”

—carter.moore@aggiemail.usu.edu

@carterthegrreat