Winthrop implemented its first bike share program just before summer vacation as a way to curb greenhouse gases caused by motorized vehicles and become more connected to the city of Rock Hill. The bike share program has already been a major hit with many students during the summer months. Students have been seen riding the bikes throughout campus and are also able to take the bikes into downtown Rock Hill if desired. The bikes on campus give students a new way to travel while also being sustainable.
“The bike share program is sustainable because it is an eco-friendly, green way of traveling and promotes community and public wellness […] The bikes serve as a way to travel while reducing air pollution,” said Winthrop’s former sustainability intern, Alexondrea Harrison.
The bike share program, according to Harrison, was specifically designed to connect Winthrop to the downtown Rock Hill area. This is beneficial for students who do not have a car on campus. However, even students who do have cars on campus are encouraged to make use out of the bike share program to help reduce their personal carbon emissions.
“When traveling by bike instead of by car, CO2 emissions would reduce instead of increase. I have seen a generous amount of students make good use out of the bike share program. A lot of people use them in the afternoon, typically after classes are over,” said Harrison.
Bike share programs have been becoming more and more popular around the world. A bike share program is a service in which bicycles are made available for shared use to individuals for a short period of time. There is usually a fee involved to use these bicycles, but that fee amount varies from each program.
The first ever bike share program began in Amsterdam in the 1960s, however, bike shares did not [really removed] begin getting popular in other places around the world until the 1990s. In a paper published by the University of Florida, it is stated that [with the implementation of bike share programs removed] there have been benefits seen in the cities where bike share programs have been implemented. These benefits include reducing greenhouse gases, improving public health and increasing transit use. The research on bike share history done at the University of Florida concludes that it is likely that bike share programs will continue to grow in the future. [This is ultimately removed] Due to traffic congestion and population growth, people are likely to find faster ways to get around a city.
As mentioned before, every bike share is different in the fee charges and how to go about getting a bike. A good thing, however, is that Winthrop has worked to make it as easy as possible to reserve a bike through their bike share program.
Harrison explained, “You can go online or download the social Bicycles app to reserve a bike. You create an account and use the account number and pin code in order to unlock the bike. The first 2 hours of biking are free, and after that time it’s $6 per hour.”
The bike share program is intended for anyone on campus to use. This includes students and faculty. The bikes themselves are still fairly new because the bike share program was only implemented in late April of last year. The bikes, themselves, can be found to the side of the West Center, behind Margaret Nance resident hall. The bike share program is ultimately intended to promote community and connect more students to Rock Hill, all while reducing carbon emissions. Throughout this next school year it will be seen how much bike share companies can benefit a campus and community.