Aggie Blue Bikes Riding Soon To Campus

The start of school has plenty of stress and figuring out how to get around campus, let alone areas of Logan, can add to the pressure, especially for new students. That's why Utah State University undergraduate Adam Christensen, Utah Conservation Corps director Shawn Damitz and Campus Recreation director Kevin Kobe are developing a community bike program that kicks off Sept. 1. Air quality in Cache Valley was also a consideration in the planning and development.

 

The best news is, the program is free to Utah State University students.

 

The idea for community bikes came about when several people wanted to improve Logan’s air quality. Kobe had seen the idea for a community bike program in other cities and that became a possible solution for local air quality issues.

 

"Logan has an air quality problem that is a detriment to our community," said Christensen.

 

A coalition of students, faculty and administrators was formed to create the Aggie Blue Bikes. Initial research by the coalition revealed there were certain policies that prohibited bikes from being ridden on campus.

 

The policies were changed after the coalition presented the information to the associated student government and the university executive council on campus.

 

Christensen and Kobe contacted bike enthusiasts throughout the community and many bikes were donated. Many more bikes were purchased through a generous donation by Juan Franco, vice president for Student Services at USU. The majority of the bikes donated and purchased came from Rob Hamlin, a local bicycle repair technician, as well as the Utah State University Police Department.

 

“We had a great response from people in the community helping us get the program started,” Christensen said.

 

The community bike program is similar to a library checking out books, Christensen said. Students can check out a bike for up to a month. It must be returned or checked out for an additional month if they want to keep it longer.

 

“We don’t want to deal with deposits, so if the bike is returned late we have the person’s records and we’ll just let them know that we are holding them until they pay the late fee,” said Christensen. “We are just getting started and we’re all new at this. There are some inevitable bugs that will need to be worked out but we know it can work, so stick with us.”

 

While the program is free, students are responsible for any liability issues, including theft or damage to the bicycle. Organizers are attempting to obtain a number of free locks to be used with the program, Christensen said.

 

The Aggie Blue Bike program will start shortly after school begins at USU and is open to all USU students. To check out a bike, visit the Utah Conservation Corps in the Nelson Recreation Center (fieldhouse), and ask for an Aggie Blue Bike. The Aggie Blue Bike program is a cooperative venture between Utah State University and the Utah Conservation Corps.