WolfWheels, N.C. State’s first bike-rental program, was inaugurated on the Brickyard Monday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at noon, followed by a bike ride to Centennial Campus and back. WolfWheel bikes and helmets were offered to students who participated.
WolfWheels provides NCSU students, faculty, and staff with an alternative mode of transportation and in doing so offers a progressive solution to decreasing the University’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Natasha Herting, a graduate in industrial and systems engineering, played a key role in the program’s conception. She served as the Sustainability Commission of Student Government Chair and participated in the 2008 NCSU inaugural GHG inventory which calculated the percentage of GHG emissions by the University.
The investigation found transportation was the third largest source of GHG emissions, contributing 11.8 percent of emissions.
Herting said upon this realization, the Sustainability Commission of Student Government began efforts to reduce the number and conceived the idea of the WolfWheels program.
David Dean, Sustainability Outreach Coordinator, said NCSU is ranked fourth in the Southeast for “cool” schools by the Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine, a designation for greenest schools in North Carolina and surrounding states. The magazine conducted research and interviews to evaluate colleges’ and universities’ application of efficient energy use in the southeast and spotlighted and schools not just teaching about “going green” but actually doing it.
“The upcoming induction of WolfWheels to NCSU’s campus was a major reason why we were ranked so high,” Dean said. “We beat out UNC-Chapel Hill, who was ranked fifth, because we are implementing a program that offers sustainable alternative transportation.”
NCSU has been making efforts to become an environmentally conscious campus. The inaugural GHG inventory in 2008 was a huge step for the University and the WolfWheels is the result of action taken due to that outcome.
Chancellor Oblinger, upon acceptance of his position, signed a commitment to lower GHG emissions at NCSU, and many students think this program is a significant move in fulfilling that promise.
Mike Thompson, a senior in parks, recreation and tourism management, owns a bike but lives too far away to commute to school on it.
“WolfWheels is a great opportunity for students,” Thompson said. “With the campus expanding, this is an economic means of getting to class.”
WolfWheels rents out bikes, helmets, locks and front and rear lights through Outdoor Adventures rental counter located on the first floor of the Carmichael Recreation Center. Outdoor Adventures will also provide maintenance clinics and workshops for renters.
Students, faculty and staff can register for the program in person up to two weeks in advance.
Spring 2010 rental hours are Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and this summer from noon to 5:00 p.m.
In efforts to become a more health-conscious and sustainable campus, WolfWheels has been sponsored by many departments and organizations on campus including Campus Enterprises, Campus Recreation, Carmichael Complex Facilities & Operations, the Department of Transportation, the N.C. State University Cycling Club, the Sustainability Commission of Student Government, the University Sustainability Office and the Office of Energy Management.
