UF is considering a plan to implement a $200,000 bicycle program in hopes of becoming more environmentally friendly and alleviating car congestion on campus.
The program, offered through The Collegiate Bicycle Company, is similar to Zipcar, a car-sharing program on campus, said DeDee DeLongpre-Johnston, director of the UF Office of Sustainability.
For a small fee, students, faculty and staff would be able to use their Gator 1 Cards to rent campus bicycles for short periods of time throughout the day.
According to an article in The New York Times, universities and colleges nationwide are implementing bicycle programs to cut car use on campus.
For example, the University of New England and Ripon College in Wisconsin are giving free bicycles to freshmen who agree not to use cars on campus.
The Collegiate Bicycle Company's program has improved in comparison to previous, similar programs that lacked student accountability and resulted in disappearing bicycles, DeLongpre-Johnston said.
DeLongpre-Johnston said the new bikes would have a chip in them, so they could track who has the bicycle.
She said the program would pay for itself over a four-year period but would need to be piloted before UF makes an investment.
Barriers, such as a possible lack of student participation, will play an important role in making the final decision.
Nick Greenhood, a UF organic crop production junior, said even as an avid cyclist himself, he is not sure how successful the program would be with other students.
"I don't know if students would take advantage of it," Greenhood said.
"There would probably have to be some sort of incentive."
DeLongpre-Johnston said The Collegiate Bicycle Company manufactures custom, campus-cruiser bicycles painted with school colors and logos.
"I'm hoping a program like this will create a social norm, maybe even start a new tradition, and students will want to ride these bikes around campus," DeLongpre-Johnston said.
UF's Transportation Working Group will meet Nov. 20 to discuss possibilities for adopting The Collegiate Bicycle Company's program or one similar to it.
