Aggie Blue Bikes gaining recognition for efforts
A program helping students with daily transportation is now helping USU get some statewide recognition.
At a conference in October, Aggie Blue Bike received the Innovative New Program Award from NASPA, a renowned student affairs association for higher education.
Shaun Damitz, director of the Utah Conservation Corps, accepted the award on behalf of Aggie Blue Bikes.
“We were very honored to accept the award, considering that it was for all the different institutions of higher ed throughout the state,” Damitz said. “It speaks volumes of all the staff and the volunteers at Blue Bikes as well as the Utah State University community that’s really embraced the program.”
Aggie Blue Bikes, part of Utah Conservation Corps, started in 2005 with the aim to improve air quality in Cache Valley, said shop manager David Griffin. The program takes donated bicycles, refurbishes them and lets students borrow them free of charge.
At its outset, the program had a few bikes available and students could check them out one semester at a time, Griffin said.
In addition to the three-month checkouts, he said, students can now borrow bikes for a single day if needed.
The variety of bikes available has expanded as well, Griffin said, now including mountain bikes, tandems, beach cruisers and unicycles.
Students who need to fix their own bikes can get help at the Blue Bikes shop, located between the Military Science Building and the Fieldhouse.
Volunteers teach cyclists how to repair and take care of their bikes, and students already familiar with bike maintenance can just stop by to use the shop’s tools, Griffin said.
Kaden Harding, a senior studying biochemistry, said Blue Bikes helped him get around after a driver ran a stop sign and totaled his car, this summer. At the time, he didn’t have the means to buy a bike of his own so he borrowed one from Blue Bikes.
“I still ride it around. That way I don’t have to worry about bus times,” Harding said. “It’s pretty good exercise, and I actually enjoy it.”
Harding said getting a bike was sometimes difficult due to high demand, but the shop staff was friendly and easy to work with.
“It’s been a good experience all around,” Harding said. “If something malfunctions on your bike, you just take it in, and they help you.”
Though their main mission is to help USU students, Blue Bikes provides other services to the community, Griffin said.
Throughout the year, people donate children’s bicycles as well as the adult bikes they fix for students, Griffin said. Currently, volunteers are preparing children’s bikes as donations for Sub for Santa.
“It’s a really fun experience,” Griffin said. “Most bikes come from members of the community, and then they benefit the students. This is a small way we can give back.”
With the program’s success, Blue Bikes coordinators plan to keep expanding to reach more students in more ways. In the near future, Griffin said, the program plans to expand the workshop to accommodate more volunteers so they can refurbish bicycles at a faster rate.
For students who need access to tools when the shop is closed, Griffin said he hopes Blue Bikes can install bike stands in the area in front of the shop.
Brad Buccambuso, a graduate student, said he’s working with Blue Bikes to develop videos that teach bike repair and maintenance for use in the shop and on the program’s website.
Harding works with the new student orientation staff and said he’d like to see new students get a more comprehensive explanation of the Blue Bikes program and what it offers.
“There’s a lot of students who are concerned about getting around because they don’t have cars,” he said. “They’ve sort of heard about Aggie Blue Bikes, but they don’t know anything in particular.”
– steve.kent@aggiemail.usu.edu