Bike-lending program to debut this spring

A new biking program called Crimson Cruisers is coming to IU.

This program functions like a library where students, faculty and staff can rent a bike for free for an entire semester.

“It’s called a ‘bike library’ intentionally, like how you check out a book,” said Dustin Smucker, leisure programs coordinator for IU Outdoor Adventures. “It’s open to the public, the IU community. The checkout is free as long as the book comes back and there’s not coffee stains on it.”

IUOA is the operational hub for the pilot program, Smucker said. They took 12 bikes that were bound for landfills and repurposed them to be safe to ride.

These bikes will be rented out to riders directly from IUOA, housed in Eigenmann Hall, just like the rest of the inventory they rent out. The only difference is these bikes are free and can be rented for an entire semester.

Organizations including the Office of Sustainability are contributing to this project alongside IUOA.

The office provided guidance and hired intern graduate assistant Henri Venable to facilitate the program.

Campus Bus Services has also provided some insight and direction, Smucker said, and IU Parking is involved with the funding of the program.

For now, the program is just a pilot.

“The goal is for the pilot to run during the summertime, and, depending on the response and the success of the pilot during the summer, our goal is to scale it up in the fall,” he said.

Venable said they want to increase the number of bikes in time for the return of students and faculty to campus in the fall.

“The hope is to make Crimson Cruisers a permanent and thriving institution,” he said.
Previous proposals to bring the program to IU were not implemented because they were too expensive, Smucker said.

“The idea for bringing a bike share program to campus really started rolling in 2011, and interns have been refining the concept since,” Venable said. “The idea eventually shifted from traditional kiosk models to the bike library system we’re implementing today.”

Similar programs at Portland State University and the University of Kentucky inspired Crimson Cruisers, Venable said.

Smucker said the plan, a low-cost variation of bike sharing, is appealing because it is sustainable.

Venable explained the program is sustainable because it recycles bikes that would have been thrown away, and the initiative provides an opportunity for community involvement.

“The majority of students and employees live less than 5-10 miles from campus, but 71 percent of employees and 23 percent of off-campus students drive alone to campus,” Venable said.

Today, the student, faculty and staff ambassadors will be selected for the pilot program.

Ambassadors are being chosen from applicants that submitted their applications online to be a part of the pilot.

Bikes will be distributed April 22, when the pilot will officially begin.

The 2012 Transportation Demand Management Survey showed there was a need for transportation improvements with bicycles, which could help decrease traffic and increase wellness in the Bloomington community.

“The bike may not be a magic bullet,” Smucker said, “but it could be one step in making some strides in addressing those concerns.”