Just Named a Princeton Review Green Leadership School, UC Rolls Out Bike Share Program on April 22’s Earth Day

Photos By: Dottie Stover

   The University of Cincinnati will roll out a new bike share program on Earth Day, Thursday, April 22.

UC Bearcats Bike Share Program will be the first university bike share program in the region. Appropriately so since UC was just named to The Princeton Review's national list of "green" leadership schools. UC is the only public university in Ohio and the only school in the region named to The Princeton Review’s "Guide to 286 Green Colleges." See more on those rankings.

The bike share roll-out event will include

• A parade of at least 40 decorated Bearcat bikes.
• A brief program to introduce the Bearcats Bike Share program.
  

The parade of bikes will begin in front of UC’s University Pavilion. It will then travel to the front of Tangeman University Center and then continue to the parade’s close in front of the Engineering Research Center. To find University Pavilion, use this online map. University Pavilion is located on the left side of the map, just south of McMicken Hall.

The entire parade and program announcements regarding the bike share plan will run from 12 p.m. (noon) to 12:20 p.m. Again, at least 40 decorated bikes will be part of the parade. Also part of the parade will be UC police officers on bicycles.

UC industrial design students Ian Surra and Pooja Kashyap assemble bikes that will be part of UC's new Bearcats Bike Share Program.

After its launch on April 22, the Bearcats Bike Share program, to initially include 30 bicycles, will operate like a library, allowing students, staff and faculty to “check out” bikes for use on or off campus. It’s a means for decreasing the carbon emissions produced by automobile use.

During the pilot program, bikes will be available for check out at

• UC’s Campus Recreation Center (location for students to obtain bikes since this will be the primary hub)

A very limited number of bikes will also be available for UC staff at

• UC’s University Hall
  
• UC’s University Pavilion
  
• UC’s Central Utility Plant
  

Shawn Tubb, UC sustainability coordinator, explained that any bike could be checked out until the close of the business day with a valid UC student or employee ID. He added, “UC is the first university in the region to inaugurate a bike share program of this nature; however, about 80 colleges and universities nationally have begun similar programs in recent years.”

UC employee Beth McGrew, university architect, is already committed to riding one of the loaner bikes to and from meetings around campus. She said, “I’ll be getting to meetings faster, without having to worry about walking, which requires more time, or getting in the car, which is faster but not good for the environment. I won’t have to bring my bike from home. All around, I think it will be convenient and practical.”

UC education student Alaina Sigler test drives a Bearcats Bike Share bike she just assembled.

Upkeep and repair of the loaner bikes will be conducted by the UC student chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, building upon their existing program called BikeWorks! where students repair used bikes to give to needy children.  

Upkeep and repair of the loaner bikes will be conducted by UC engineering students operating an ongoing volunteer program to repair bikes for use by charities.

The Bearcat Bike Share program was made possible thanks to support from Huffy Bicycles, UC Undergraduate Student Government Association, the UC College-Conservatory of Music Tribunal, UC Foundation, UC Facilities Management and UC Planning+Design+Construction.  

Anyone with a question about the new program can contact Shawn Tubb at 513-556-3492 or e-mail him at shawn.tubb@uc.edu

• Return to UC’s Earth Day Web package.
• “UC Saves Energy and Saves Millions.”
• Learn about recycling on UC’s campus.
• UC-student designed eco-bag to be carried by JCPenney.
• "Earth Day Milestone: In Walking to Work, UC Engineer to Soon Total Nearly 25,000 Miles."
• UC Professor of Biology George Uetz  was involved in the first Earth Day.
• Earth Day 1970: A Time of Crisis Remembered.
• In the Green Report Card 2009, UC is named a national campus sustainability leader.