NC State received 150 new electric assist bikes, also known as e-bikes, which will make traveling around campus easier for students during the upcoming school year.
According to Sarah Williams, the program manager for Transportation Demand Management, these kinds of bikes have become more popular over the past few years.
“E-bikes are kind of blowing up right now in the biking community,” Williams said. “They’re a lot more popular than they have been in the past. So when LimeBike came to us and said ‘hey we’ve got these electric assist bikes,’ we just kind of jumped on it. And we’re very excited to be able to bring them to campus and have students see a new thing.”
Williams said that the electric assist bikes will make it easier for cyclists to ride around campus and are different than the three-speed bikes that have been at NC State for the past year.
“The electric assist are essentially pedal assist bikes,” Williams said. “So, there’s a motor that’s located inside of the bike. When you start pedaling, it’ll kick in and it helps you pedal easier so you can get up those hills a little bit easier; get around campus a little bit faster.”
NC State currently has around 500 three-speed bikes on campus, but 150 of those will gradually be replaced with the electric assist bikes. According to Yolanda Jones, the communications manager for NCSU Transportation, LimeBikes have been growing in use throughout Raleigh.
“People are using them like how they would use bikes for transit, first mile last mile,” Jones said. “They are trying to get to where they’re going once they get off the bus… A bus might not drop you off right at your front door, but a bike will.”
Williams said that the new bikes come at no cost to the university. It will cost users one dollar to unlock the bikes and six cents per minute to ride.
The motors in the bikes are powered by lithium batteries that require charging. The LimeBike staff on campus will be able to locate the bikes through an individual GPS in each bike.
“The LimeBike staff that goes around and collects and rebalances the bikes will go and collect the e-bikes,” Williams said. “[They will] take out the battery, charge them in the special charging area that they have and then they’ll put them back in in the mornings when they rebalance.”
While it isn’t required by North Carolina law, NCSU Transportation urges LimeBike users to wear a helmet. Jones also emphasized the importance of where to leave a LimeBike when done riding.
“We encourage wearing a bicycle helmet,” Jones said. “It is encouraged that you not only wear a bicycle helmet, but that you park your bikes at or near a bike rack because they should not be left in random places on a sidewalk or in the grass.”
Williams said that it is exciting to see “bike culture” grow not only on campus, but also throughout the Raleigh community.
“It’s clear that even just bringing LimeBike here to Raleigh,” Williams said, “It just proves that Raleigh wanted a bike share and that more people wanted access to bikes that might not have been able to have access to them before.
Jones said that seeing students use alternative forms of transportation in place of driving a car has been enjoyable.
“It’s exciting to share that we have alternatives to personal occupancy vehicles,” Jones said. “There are other ways to get around campus other than driving a car. So it’s exciting to see that people are using that.”
NC State students and employees can find promotions and information on LimeBike rides on the Transportation department website.
