Dear Bwog,
I noticed that there are a bunch of nice-looking “Bike Share” bikes parked in front of Lerner. How do I get one?
Sincerely,
Bikeless@Butler
Dear curious bikeless biker,
2013 seems to be the year of the bike share, with new programs cropping up here in New York City and in San Francisco. As it turns out, the bikes in front of Lerner are from Columbia’s own bike-sharing program, run by none other than the EcoReps!
EcoReps’ Bike Share goal is to provide Columbia students with a “healthy and green transportation alternative” — for free. To get into this program, all you have to do is attend a 45-minute training session sometime in the next few months. Bikers who participated in the pilot program last spring are grandfathered in.
Starting on Monday 6 September 2013, trained bikers will be able to check out the keys to their noble steed from the Hartley Hospitality Desk every day starting at 10 AM — no questions asked as long as you return it before they close at 7 PM.
Plans for more bikes and a web-based checkout system are in the works, and will be implemented if enough people are interested. Let’s face it, though: Bwog is just happy that Columbia’s Bike Share doesn’t cost more than the subway.
You can sign up for a training session here and find Bike Share on Facebook or by email.
And please don’t park your own bike in the Bike Share rack. Bwog is watching.
Bourgeois oppression via Shutterstock
13 Comments
@Anonymous There’s one out there with a stolen rear wheel already.
@Anonymous Amazing! This program is great! Thanks EcoReps!
@Anonymous much better than citibike or those other corporatist bike programs, and not just bc it’s free . you can also take the thing out for > 30 min. (wtf is up with only 30 min rides.)
@I don;t know The great thing about Citibike is that you can just ride it to another bike share and put it there. You don’t need to bring the bike with you wherever you go. So you get 30 minutes per one-way ride.
Wirh the Columbia bike share, you need to keep the bike with you until you bring it back to campus. That can be annoying.
@Anonymous Not true, they provide you with a lock that you can use.
@Red-Blooded American “Monday 6 September 2013?” Are we in communist China?
@Anonymous That’s the European format. The Chinese use the far superior year-month-day.
@did not get the joke ^
@Anonymous don’t worry mate, I did get the joke. I just don’t see why humor and seriousness have to always be completely segregated. some of the best art and writing and such is successful because of its ability to switch rapidly and elegantly between the two. and why should bwog comments be any different?
@humor and seriousness y so defensive? check your balance bro
@Roko 10 am? Oh come on. :( What about mornings?
@alum now THIS would have been nice
@Anonymous Columbia gets better and better every year.