The Samford Crimson

Issue date: 3/10/10 Section: News

The campus bike rental service that began on Feb. 22 is a service different than any other offered on campus. Students interested in renting the green bikes donated by Regions Bank can drop by the Hub, show their student ID and be the proud owner of a bike for three days.

This program is new and inventive, and staff and students both agree that the program has been quite successful.

"I was thrilled with the start of the program," vice president of operations and planning Sarah Latham said. "All bikes were checked out by lunch on the first day."

While the program began as part of Samford's "100 Grand for Green" initiative, which seeks to save the university $100,000 in utilities costs and improve the environment on campus, it has become much more than just a chance for students to "go green." It has provided them with a vehicle to ride for enjoyment and convenience.

Initiators of the program said its instantaneous successs was a bit of a surprise.

"To be very honest, I was surprised at how popular the bikes have become, and I am so pleased that they are being used," director of event management and space utilization Ken England said.

Because the success has been such a surprise, the program can't expand very soon.

"Currently we only have 15 bikes out at one time, but we received a total of 30," England said. "We had planned on rotating out 15 at a time in order to do routine maintenance on the bikes. However, due to the popularity of the program, we are looking into the option of making more bikes available at one time."

Not only were the bikes donated to the university, but the bike racks were as well, so these bikes are not taking spots from others on campus, Latham said. She also said, since the bikes were made for Samford and given to us, the program would be difficult to expand anytime soon, but her department will be monitoring the program and its progress.

Even students who have not yet rented the bikes are excited at the prospect.

"Since spring is coming up, and the weather is starting to become so beautiful, I want to spend as much time as possible outside," freshman graphic design major Stevi Sappenfield said. "I'm so glad we have the opportunity to rent bikes for free so we can get some exercise and still be out in the awesome sunshine."

While the program is still new, both Latham and England look to the future for ways to improve this program and to institute other similar programs for student use.

"I would love to see additional ideas that are similar to this program," Latham said. "When we restructured Transportation Services, we wanted to emphasize that they were more than just simply the folks who wrote tickets. They also worked to provide alternative transportation solutions and programs."

While they do not have any specific ideas for future programs, England and Latham want to look to the student body for suggestions.

"I encourage students to fill out their ideas using a Hub (Helping the University become Better) card," Latham said. "This mechanism to gather student and employee feedback was rolled out when we opened the Hub in fall. We read and review every idea submitted."

Students can submit Hub cards via the link at ops.samford.edu.

While the success of the bike program could lead to bigger and better things, now it is the simple idea of renting a bike on a sunny afternoon that is bringing joy to students across campus.

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