Aggie Blue Bikes gets new coordinator
Aggie Blue Bikes has a new programming coordinator, filling a spot that’s been vacant for more than a year.
Stephanie Tomlin officially took the position on Aug. 6. The spot had been empty since the original programming coordinator and Aggie Blue Bikes founder Adam Christensen graduated. Aggie Blue Bikes, which falls under the direction of the Student Sustainability Office, has a fleet of about 160 bikes they loan to students and faculty free of charge. A $1 increase in student fees, voted on by the student body last spring, will pay for the new position.
Tomlin said her goals include streamlining the program’s checkout process and doubling the bike fleet by 2015. This would mean more than 300 new bikes and space to keep them, she said.
Tomlin said the logistics of storing so many bikes will be complicated. Demand for Blue Bikes’ services has increased in the past year, pushing her plan new changes for the next three years. In one such change, Aggie Blue Bikes recently moved to a rolling checkout system so all bikes can be rented on a day-by-day basis, rather than all of them being checked in and out at the same time.
Sean Damitz, Student Sustainability Office director, said Tomlin was picked out of a pool of around 40 applicants. The office created a committee comprised of faculty and students to decide who should fill the position. Damitz said without a director, the program has been trying to keep up with high demand.
“Having Stephanie on board takes us beyond the ‘head above water’ mentality,” he said.
Tomlin said Aggie Blue Bikes stayed extremely busy before fall semester started, with a large number of freshman wanting three month checkouts. She said some students showed up as early as 5:30 a.m. to get bikes.
“This program is utilized,” Tomlin said. “I’ve only been here two and a half weeks, but I can grasp this program is extremely important to a lot of students.
As coordinator, one of her goals is to increase community programming. This includes working with Campus Recreation and the Outdoor Recreation Program, as well as providing bike education classes and holding a women’s night, she said.
“We would like to get more involved in the Utah State University community,” Tomlin said. “The focus is definitely the student, faculty and staff here at Utah State and really improving the program.”
Before landing the position at Aggie Blue Bikes, Tomlin helped create a similar but smaller bike fleet at Westminster College in Salt Lake City. As an environmental studies major, she said she found her niche in sustainable transportation.
With the help of Kerry Case, Westminster’s Environmental Center director, Tomlin said she created a “fledgling” program, based off of Aggie Blue Bikes.
“We came up … to look at the program here as a lot of young programs do, because Aggie Blue Bikes is one of the best in the country,” Tomlin said. “Of course, we were immediately like, ‘this is what we want our program to be like.'”
Though a position wasn’t open at the time, Tomlin said the idea of being in charge of something similar to Aggie Blue Bikes appealed to her.
“It’s exactly what I wanted to do, not only because it’s a program I basically idolized, but because this is exactly the type of work I wanted to do.”
Case said Tomlin will improve an already-successful program with her organizational and creative abilities.
“She’s willing to listen and to look around the community around their needs,” Case said.
Damitz said because of her experience and personality, Tomlin will take an active role in expanding Aggie Blue Bikes.
“She’s a lively spokesperson, somebody who believes in the direction of the program,” Damitz said. “She’s the right person to take on the reins.”
– allee.evensen@aggiemail.usu.edu