GreenUR rolls out new, more durable bikes

Green Bikes are back on campus after the winter, along with 14 new yellow bikes that were purchased to replace damaged and lost bikes.

The Green Bike program was first launched by GreenUR, the student environmental and sustainability group, during the fall of 2009 with 35 green beach cruisers available for students, faculty and staff to use anywhere on campus. Riding the bikes is free, and bikes can be dropped off at any bike rack on campus. The purpose of the program is to provide an alternative form of transportation and lessen on-campus traffic, according to the Green Bike program's Web site.

Twenty-two of the original 35 green bikes are back in circulation, said Daniel Kinka, the bicycle mechanic employed by the university. Ten green bikes are still unaccounted for and three are being used for parts, he said.

After many bike damages last semester, there had been some uncertainty about whether the program would continue, but sophomore Jerry Giordano, president of GreenUR, is optimistic about the future of the Green Bikes.

"People are warming up to [the program] much more," he said. "Now that the bikes are back, people realize, 'Oh, these are nicer bikes.' The yellow bikes are much more stable [than the green bikes], and so far we've gotten a pretty positive response from all the students.

"There used to be people who would make fun of the program, or be like, 'Stupid green bike,' and kick it, but now people are like, 'Sweet, green bike,' and jump on. It's been great to see that happening over time."

Kinka said there hadn't been any major damages to bikes so far this semester.

"The damages are all very minor and only constitute 10 to 15 minute repairs on average," he said. "However, what's unsettling is the obvious fact that much of the damage is intentional, or at the very least, the result of flagrant neglect.

"It's clear to anyone that has set foot outside campus in the last two weeks that the bikes have been generally well received. Every day I see members of the university community enjoying and taking advantage of the green bikes. What is becoming clear, however, is that, at some point, a sub-population of people is knowingly and intentionally damaging the bikes. I encourage everyone at the university to keep an eye out for any such neglect and to report it," he said.

Karen DeBonis, a GreenUR member who first introduced the idea of the Green Bike Program, said, "[Last semester] we saw a lot of damage at the beginning, and then the hype wore down and people stopped damaging the bikes as much. The newness of the program is wearing off and people are realizing just how great it is, and their responsibility in taking care of the bikes."

Next year, GreenUR will be implementing more aspects of the Green Bike program, including a bike sale program launching in the fall of 2010, Giordano said.

The idea came from a combination of two things: the abandoned bikes left on campus every year after graduation, and people wanting to donate old bikes, DeBonis said.

"We wanted to be able to use [those bikes] and recycle and refurbish them and sell them to students," she said. Since the Green Bike program began, many students had become interested in buying bikes of their own, she said.

Giordano said he hoped the bike sale would occur at the Forum during the second week of fall 2010 classes. He said GreenUR was shooting for bike prices between $30 and $50.

Bikes that aren't sold will be inventoried and taken into storage in the gym for students to be able to buy them throughout the year, Giordano said.

"It's basically a bike store," he said.

Students and employees also have the opportunity for their personal bikes to be serviced at no charge at the Weinstein Center for Recreation and Wellness.

"Many students don't know this, but they can take their own bikes and get free maintenance, including the bikes we'll sell in the fall," Giordano said. In addition to Kinka, the university will be hiring one or two student mechanics from GreenUR, Giordano said.

"Next year is the first year the bike program will be in full swing, with the maintenance shop, the store, the bike sale and the whole inventory," Giordano said. "If the bike programs become popular enough, and this becomes more of a bike-oriented campus, we're hoping especially the freshmen will catch on and maybe we can get more funding and nicer bikes."

Contact reporter Anna Kuta at anna.kuta@richmond.edu.