Understanding the Bike Share

The winter closure of The Amherst College Bike Share just before Thanksgiving marked nearly a decade since the program first appeared on campus. After all these years, we in the Office of Sustainability (OS) recognize that many students still don’t fully understand how the program works. To help shed some light, the OS writes to celebrate the program’s history and successes as well as to share a few challenges we’ve faced. We hope that, by sharing this information, we can make the bike share better in the years to come.

The history of the bike share is a bit complicated. The bike share in its current format has been around for nearly three years, but bike sharing at Amherst College actually dates back further. In Spring 2016, a 10-bike pilot program was launched out of Keefe Campus Center. The reason for, and exact date of  the original bike share’s shutdown remains unknown, even to the OS, but the program effectively disappeared by the time Covid-19 hit campus. A couple of years later, a collaboration between the OS, the Office of Residential Engagement and Wellbeing, and Athletics revived the bike share. The OSwould then take over full responsibility for the program. This brings us to today, with the OS funding the program to the tune of about $10,000 per year, covering labor and general upkeep. However, this figure does not account for the costs of the original bikes, additional labor (i.e., front desk monitors at the gym), or other unexpected expenses, which I will address in a moment.

Okay, fine, but what actually is the bike share? At its core, it’s a program that offers free access to bikes for students three out of the four seasons. The program operates under a straightforward mission: “The Amherst College Bike Share allows Amherst College students and staff to check out bikes during the day for free. Our goal is to make sustainable recreation easy and accessible for all campus community members and to advocate for the benefits of riding bicycles.”

Despite its lofty goals, the OS has been so happy to see the program succeed. One of the things that makes the bike share special is the involvement of student fellows. While the program is overseen and funded by the OS, it is almost entirely student-run. Each year, two to three student fellows manage checkouts, track bike returns, and coordinate bike repairs. This year, our team includes Rachel Willick ’25 (Alternative Transportation Fellow), Jessica Lomo ’27 (Bike Technician Fellow), and Dede Lonsdale ’27 (Summer Alternative Transportation Fellow). These students maintain the bike share program and run the Tread Shed, our on-campus bike co-op, which was recently named the National Wildlife Foundation’s Zero Waste Winner.

This year, the popularity of the program has led to the addition of a new transportation fellow to manage the increase in checkouts and repairs. This past fall alone, we saw 233 checkouts from 98 unique individuals. The combination of student engagement and oversight has been a key part of the program’s success and motivates the OS to keep it active and, more importantly, free. While many campuses charge for bike share services, the OS is fortunate to offer this resource at no cost to students.

Successes aside, Bike Share has been facing its own struggles lately. The numbers above highlight the program’s popularity, but they don’t reflect the full reality of students’ participation in the program. Some bikes are not returned on time — or at all. Of the 233 checkouts this fall, only 202 bikes were returned. In addition, many bikes come back without keys or in need of serious repairs, which takes the bikes out of circulation for a while. There have also been many instances where students take keys from the gym’s front desk without completing a check-out form, making tracking difficult and leading to unaccounted-for bikes. As a result, sustainability staff, including the director of sustainability, have spent hours each semester tracking down bikes and keys, all to keep the program running for students who enjoy it. Since repairs rely on student labor, the increase in bike damage and missing bikes has created a backlog that takes time away from maintaining bikes currently in circulation. The problem even led to the temporary shutdown of the bike share program to catch up on repairs.

Even with these issues, the OS is confident that we, as a community, can improve our collective usage. The success of the bike share depends on all of us doing our part. First, we want to reiterate the bike share’s community rules. The program is meant for day rentals only, so bikes should be returned by the end of the day. If something comes up and you’re running late, that’s okay,  but we ask that you send a quick email to [email protected]. Additionally, when you check out a bike, you’ll need to complete the online checkout waiver and, afterward, the return form. This ensures your safety and serves as a reminder that the bikes are a shared resource. We ask you to please treat the bike nicely so that the next user can enjoy it just as much as you. Damage will happen — that’s expected — but communicating any issues as soon as they arise allows us to address them promptly and make the bike safe and rideable for the next person.

If, for whatever reason, you need a bike more often and you find that the bike share isn’t meeting your needs, there are great alternatives. The Tread Shed offers a Work-to-Own program, where you can select a bike to repair and keep for yourself for free. Outside of the college, local bike shops such as Hampshire Bicycle Exchange offer long-term rental options at affordable prices.

We hope this has given students a better understanding of the effort that goes into sustaining the bike share on campus — and the often unseen work behind the scenes. Most importantly, the bike share wouldn’t be possible without the students who use it, and its future depends on how we treat it. But again, this relies upon students treating the Bike Share as what it is: a privilege, not a guarantee. The OS loves having the program and would like to expand it with more bikes, sizes, and options. This can only happen if students prove they can take care of the current program. If we can all treat the bikes with respect, communicate more effectively, and honor the shared nature of the program, we can protect its place on Amherst’s campus and even help it grow.

So please, keep riding! And we’ll see you again in the spring.