Free Bike? No, It’s Not Being Offered By a Creepy Guy in a Van
By Tristan Fowler - Oct 23rd, 2008 at 9:36 amHow’s this for innovation? Colleges and universities are giving away free bikes so students don’t bring their carbon-spewing, planet-killing cars to campus. The University of New England gave a bike to any new freshman who promised to keep his or her car at home. It’s a heck of a lot cheaper for these institutions to donate the bikes than it is to build a new parking lot, manage the traffic, and issue those annoying parking tickets. Plus, it’s a better way to live! I mean, the Dutch sure love their bikes in Amsterdam, and who doesn’t want to live more like the Dutch?
While some colleges aren’t quite generous to give away bikes away for free, they are using loan progams and working with local bike shops to encourage their students to ride instead of drive. At the University of California at Berkeley, students can rent a bike for a day. Students can join the program, Green Bike Share, for just $15 a semester. With a little luck, programs like these will go national, and we will listen to the charming sounds of bike chimes rather than car engines and backfire.
So does a student still get a bike if he doesn’t have a car and also pledges not to bring his car to campus?
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:05 amYes. A college official at the University of New England told me they have no way of knowing if you own a car or not. As long as you’re a first-year resident, and you don’t bring a car to campus, you get a free bike. The car-less upperclassmen must feel left out.
October 23rd, 2008 at 2:13 pm[...] Tristan Fowler’s contribution to the progressive collaborative blog Pushback: [...]
October 23rd, 2008 at 6:43 pm