A new bike share program at N.C. State that aims to be more convenient for students launches today in the Quad.
Quad Bikes, an initiative in association with NCSU’s Wolf Wheels, will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for at 6 p.m. today in the Honors Village. Students are welcome and encouraged to attend the launch, according to Carlos Vega, a senior in civil engineering and co-founder of Quad Bikes.
Quad Bikes will enable students in the Honors Village to rent a selected bike for any five hour period. Students will check bikes in and out through the 24-hour help desk.
No deposit is needed, and all bikes are free of charged if checked in and out properly, but students must fill out the necessary paperwork and attend a workshop for eligibility. The workshop will train basic bike safety to ensure students aren’t a danger to themselves and others on the road. After completing the workshop, students will be given a card that they can show to the 24-hour help desk to rent a bike.
Vega entered the Think Outside the Brick competition and was awarded a $500 grant for second place. Vega’s capital was used to buy helmets and repair equipment. The actual bikes were donated by David Crye, who is in charge of the current bike rental program on campus Wolf Wheels.
“There is already a bike share program called Wolf Wheels that is run the Rec. Center,” Vega said. “One of the main reasons we started this new program is that we felt that if we moved the bikes to the residence halls [students] would be more willing to use them.”
Students currently using Wolf Wheels can only rent bikes from the Campus Recreaction.
“If students want to ride a bike to class it wouldn’t make sense for them to walk to the Rec. Center, especially if their dorm isn’t nearby.” Vega said. “We hope that students will like it and that we can expand it to other residence halls”
This program will allow the university to become even more “bike friendly” and will provide a great service to students. Bikes will provide a means of travel and exercise but also enjoyment.
“This is a step that we as a community should take,” Vega said.
Bike share programs allow students to enjoy the fun and leisure of biking without the hefty costs of owning a bike. Building and maintaining a good bike can be expensive and students often lack the funds for upkeep.
“The reason we started this is because we want N.C. State students to be able to have access to bikes.” Vega said. “By moving to the residential bike share we hope to increase the number of students who use bikes.”
Quad Bikes is not the only innovative biking movement. Major cities are noticing a rise in bikes as they are becoming more and more accessible to the public. One such program is City Bike, a program now in New York City that allows members of the public to rent a bike for a small fee.
