PEA Launches New Bikeshare Program

After two years of preparation, Student Council (StuCo) has finally launched RedBikes, a campus bike share program granting adults and students with parental permission free access to a fleet of 20 bikes stationed across campus.

This project was first begun by students in a Green Umbrella Learning Lab (GULL) course from the class of 2018 as an initiative to reduce bike waste and encourage sustainable transportation, according to English Instructor and Sustainability Education Coordinator Jason BreMiller. “Initially, the team wanted to rehabilitate a fleet of discarded bikes abandoned by students during successive dorm cleanouts. When it became apparent that this model wouldn’t work for a number of reasons, they had to recalibrate their plans,” he said.

Upon Academy approval of the RedBikes proposal, jointly drafted with StuCo, the GULL team received $20,000 from the Principal’s Discretionary Fund to purchase the bikes. After the organizers graduated, four members of StuCo—lowers Tanya Das, Milan Gandhi, Georgie Venci and Jasmine Xi—officially became the program’s coordinators, responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the bikes using the Bloom app, which alerts their administrative accounts when problems are reported.

Prior to the official rollout this year, a successful RedBikes pilot was launched on Climate Action Day last spring, during which coordinators digitally tracked the frequency of use and the average distance travelled by approximately 50 student volunteers given early access to the bikes. Manager of Sustainability and Natural Resources Warren Biggins recalled how the pilot revealed high student demand. “We had probably 200 to 250 students who tried to register for the bike share,” he said.

The continued popularity of the bikes has been apparent this year, as hundreds of Exonians registered for use in just the first few days. Upper Seth Amofa expressed his gratitude for the new community resource. “I love the idea of RedBikes because it is very convenient for me as someone who plays a fall sport,” he said. “Knowing that I have a RedBike available, I don’t feel rushed after class to get to the fields very quickly.”

Prep Sam Creelen uses RedBikes to get around on campus more quickly. “I think it is all about efficiency,” Creelen said. “With RedBikes, we can spend less time in transit and more time preparing for classes or hanging out with friends.”

The coordinators have encountered some challenges, however. While the coordinators took early precautions to restrict bike routes to campus using a geo-fence, Biggins noted that some students have been taking bikes into buildings, interfering with digital tracking. “[Taking bikes inside] blocks the GPS … We really emphasize that the bikes need to stay on campus and they need to stay outside,” he said.

Venci emphasized the importance of respecting a shared community resource that has proven to be a very positive addition to campus. “We want this program to outlast us, so students need to respect the bikes and make sure to let us know if there are any problems so we can fix them right away,” he said.

In the future, StuCo President Ayush Noori hopes to expand the program using information gathered through the Bloom app and student feedback. “We are continuing to collect data and will use it to improve the program,” he said.