Clemson University’s campus is roughly 1,400 acres with different transportation methods to travel around campus. Many students, faculty and staff are aware of the different bus stops and Park-N-Rides on campus, but not many people know about Clemson’s BikeShare Program.
Bicycles have been rented at Clemson for many years, but the program was initiated by students in 2017. Many students, faculty and staff use bicycles to travel around campus since it is faster and more time efficient than waiting for bus times. The program’s launch was a success as shown by the students that were surveyed if they would be interested in a bike share program on campus.
When the program was launched in April 2017, students were joining at a steady rate, and it was at its peak of utilization. After COVID-19 restrictions have lessened, the program has been picking up this fall with a current number of 1,106 members. Daniel Hofmann, Director of Parking and Transportation Services, said that Clemson has earned many awards after launching the BikeShare, such as being upgraded “by the League of American Bicyclists from ‘Bronze’ status to ‘Silver’ status” and being awarded the “Spare the Air” Award for Most Outstanding College or University by SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC).
Clemson’s BikeShare is also popular among graduate students making about 15% out of the 1,106 members. Graduate students are also in “support of expanding the program” according to Hofmann. Hofmann has been working with Travis Roberts and the Graduate Student Government (GSG) and has helped receive a “capital improvement grant of over $101,000 from the IT Student Advisory Board (ITSAB) and another $5,000 from GSG.” This funding will help add two additional BikeShare stations, to the five on campus and 20 E-bikes, bicycles with an integrated electric motor to assist in propulsion. GSG is soon going to host an event to promote sustainability and to share the BikeShare’s expansion with the new E-bikes.
E-bikes are being introduced to Clemson’s BikeShare because of the doubled growth of utilization when the City of Greenville introduced them. The programs at Elon University and Wofford College are also being reviewed to acquire the best system of BikeShare.
In addition to the BikeShare stations and E-bikes, the University’s Bike Master Plan is in place to solve the biggest challenges faced by bike usage across campus. Hofmann and his team are working with Facilities and Campus planning to connect bike infrastructures on and off campus by creating additional roadways and either bike lanes or shared roadways. Hofmann says, “we are currently awaiting the completion of the widening of Perimeter Road which will include dedicated bike lanes that will connect our East Park N Ride Lots on HWY 76 to the main campus via Perimeter Road to McMillan Road on into campus.” There will also be BikeShare stations at commuter lots too.
Clemson’s BikeShare program was launched to create a healthy and sustainable way for students to travel around campus. Their website https://clemson.bcycle.com/ quotes “BCycle is the hassle-free, non-polluting, green transportation solution to parking fees and gas prices.” Several of the stations are powered by solar panels making it completely usable when there are sudden power outages. There are no traces of emission, even with the new E-bikes. The E-bikes will allow students to increase the range of distance and reduce the reliance on cars. This new direction of the BikeShare program will allow students to travel from commuter lots to their classes more efficiently, since parking on campus is difficult, as we all can attest to.
Annual membership is $15 and all rides for the first two hours are free. Students interested in applying for a membership can do through the website provided or can call 864-656-9484.
