Sustainability proposal
(Green Bike Program)

Submitted by:

(Xuanzi Gao)

Submitted on:

01/30/2011


  1. Identification of Sponsors
  2. Project Sponsors (insert project sponsors and contact information below)

1. Residence Hall Association

Susie Kekec – Scholars 108B

1116 East Cherry Street

Springfield, MO 65109

(573) 645-6375

  1. Faculty/Staff advisor(insert faculty/staff contact information below)

1.Angela Strider

Title: Residence Hall Association Advisor

1001 E. Harrison 104

Springfield, MO 65807

(417) 836-6591

  1. Project Manager(identify manager below)
  2. Koary Xuanzi Gao

E. Elm 833 Sunvilla Tower 406

Springfield, MO 65806

(417) 619-1971

II. Description of Proposed Project

  1. General Description of Proposal

“We are at a critical juncture in the evolution of our relationship to the environment; and universities must take the lead in addressing issues of sustainability” …states Michael M. Crow, President of Arizona State University, in “ASU’s Carbon Neutrality Action Plan 2009”. He further states that even though college campuses are responsible for only a very small percentage of Greenhouse Gas emissions in this country, it is vitally important to understand that they are in a position of educating and influencing future businessmen, politicians, and community leaders. In order to be able to tackle sustainability issues, I believe it is important that universities educate students and prepare them for the challenges facing our world. In order to do that, we have to start making changes that affect our campus and community. The proposed “Green Bike Program” would serve as a strong example of sustainability, not only to our students but also to our community. One of the environmental benefits of this program is a decrease in GHG emissions caused by a large number of students using their personal vehicles for short trips in and around campus and the Springfield area. In the future, this program will provide “off campus” students the option to ride a bike instead of driving and give “on campus” students a way to ride to Dillons or downtown. The Green Bike Program has the potential to stand out as one of the many successful contributions that Missouri State University is implementing in an effort to educate tomorrow’s leaders and initiate change.

  1. Proposal Details

The proposed Green Bike Program is going to be very similar to bike programs found around the nation on many other campuses. The practical purpose of this program would be to provide a form of sustainable and economically responsible transportation for MSU students. The Green Bike Program would start with a fleet of about thirty bikes acquired from the Department of Safety and Transportation. In addition, Safety and Transportation had a bike collection at the end of Spring 2010 semester, which collected 2 usable bikes for the program. In the Fall 2010 semester wecollected roughly 50 usable bikes.

The process for collection is as follows. Removable tags are attached to every bike on campus. These tags inform the student that if not removed in the allotted time period, the bike will be considered abandoned and will be collected by the university. Before these abandoned bikes go to auction, university departments have the option to pick out bikes from these collections. Residence Life and Services will obtain useable bikes from this surplus for the Green Bike Program. These bikes may not be in working condition, so they will be repaired before being added to the fleet.

These bikes will be checked out on campus by students, who would then be responsible for these bikes for the entire checkout period. The checkout period during the pilot program will last from the second week of school to the first week of December. At the end of the checkout period the students are responsible to turn in the bikes. The bikes will be checked for any damage and then kept out of the weather during the winter months. The checkout period for spring will be from the February through the first week of May. The reason the months of December and January are not included is due to the regular icing that occurs during these months. Ice may damage the bikes and increase maintenance costs. Also, most students will not be riding these bikes during extremely cold weather, so bike use is limited during this time period. The final reason for this break is that this time period falls within the slow period of a partnering bike shop. This means the maintenance that needs to be preformed will be fast, and this will also keeps the bike shop busy.

The suggested cost for the bike rental will be ten dollars for a semester checkout. This fee is to help pay for the expected $50 per year maintenance of each bike. At the end of each spring semester, the program will be receiving approximately thirty to fifty bikes from Safety and Transportation. After two academic years of piloting the program with the Residence Hall population, the program will be transitioned to a campus-wide program. The maximum number of bikes is estimated to be one hundred bikes. This number can be expanded later on in the program to help accommodate the needs of the program and the students at Missouri State. This number of bikes has been established so that items for these bikes can be bought in advance to help secure the best prices. This also gives the project manager an exact number to expect in order to plan for the transition to the entire campus.

The major factor in the success of the Green Bike Program is the piloting period. This initial phase will give us time to evaluate some of the hurdles and challenges that are going to arise, such as maintenance. It will also allow us to figure out how to handle these challenges so that when the campus transition period comes up, most of the details of the program will already be worked out. Several options for the campus-wide program are available and under research, but it is impossible to tell at this juncture which one will be best for our campus. Again, the goal of the piloting phase is for us to determine what is successful, and therefore determine what style of program will be the best for Missouri State.

The transition will take place between fall 2012 and spring 2013. The details of this transition are left vague so that the current project manager can make the best decisions possible and has all options open. Semester reports will be given to the sustainability commission. The reoccurring funds will continue through the duration of the pilot program. After the piloting period the project manager will have to reapply for funds from the sustainability commission.

Maintenance will be provided by a local bike shop, probably Queen City Cycle. The bikes will be transported in between checkout periods to the bike shop where they will go through the maintenance process. Transportation of the bikes to the bikes shop will be provided by Residence Life and Services. At the end of the trial period, the contract with the bike shop and maintenance of the bikes will be reevaluated to determine the ability of expanding the program to include student workers and bringing a bike shop to campus.

  1. Proposed location for the object of the proposal

Concerning location, bikes that have been checked out will actually be located throughout the entire campus of Missouri State. The only location that will be a constant is the location of the bikes when they aren’t checked out. The location for these bikes during this time will be under the Blair-Shannon overhang. Currently, the bikes are stored in the under garage of Sunvilla Tower.

  1. Alternative Uses

There is no alternative use for this program

  1. Drawbacks

Drawbacks to this program include: The possibility of the theft of a bike, and the continual maintenance fees for these bikes. The checkout numbers may not be at their peak until late February.

  1. Necessary modifications to existing structures

Depending on whether the bike shops can fixed all the bikes before the spring 2011 spring break, the program start date may be delayed a few weeks.

  1. Estimated Cost of the Project(please give the estimated cost of the project)
  2. Provisions of Alternatives in Order of Preference

The fleet would be scheduled to start in spring 2011 with the thirty to fifty bikes that will be acquired from Safety and Transportation. This option leads to a smaller start for the first full year of rental. This also means that the proposed maximum number of bikes will not be reached when the Green Bike Program transitions to the campus

Queen City Cycle
417-831-0800

Repair Cost / $30 Labor
$20 Parts
Sunshine Bike Shop
417-883-1113

Repair Cost / $50 Labor
$50 Parts
  1. Provisions of Complete Cost Breakdowns

Startup Costs
Item / Quantity / Amount
Maintenance of Bikes Recovered From Campus / 50-65 / $1,500
Locks / 100 / $1,500
Paint / $1,500
10% overage / $450
Total / $4,950
  1. Provisions of any Ongoing Costs

Yearly Costs
Item / Quantity / Recurring Amount
Bike Maintenance of Additional and Old Bikes / 100 / $3000
Miscellaneous / $500
10% overage / $350
Total / $3,850
  1. Estimated Completion Time of Project

Fall 2010Safety and Transportation collect bikes for program. Currently 65 bikes have been collected.

January 27, 2011 Housing and University Enrichment committee checks on the condition of bikes. Begin Pricing the bikes for restoration in comparison to Local Bike Dealership prices.

February 3-February 11, 2011Send all bikes into the shops for necessary repairs

February 14, 2011Housing and University Enrichment Committee Brings Potential Logo and Publicity for Green Bike Program to present to RHA.

February 14, 2011Housing and University Enrichment Committee Begin making and distributing publicity for the Green Bike Program

March 1-March 4, 2011Housing and University Enrichment Committee along with RHA will paint the bikes Green, assuming the Bikes are back at the given time.

March 16, 2011Bike Check Out Begins

Fall 2012The Program Manager will begin the transition to the next project Project Manager. A commission will be formed to aid in this transition including; SGA, RHA SAC, Greek Life, and Sustainable organizations.

Spring 2013Transition of the program from Residence Hall students to Campus Wide, if the Green Bike Program progresses well, this may occur sooner

  1. EstimatedLife of Project

The Green Bike Program can last as long as the funding is available to keep the bikes maintained or until there is an alternative form of transportation that is sustainable and cost effective. After the successful completion of the pilot phase and during the transition of the program to the campus would be a good time to apply for other funds and improvements to the program. For example: drafting a proposal for Wyrick funding.

  1. Justification of Project

The Green Bike Program will help students reduce their dependence on vehicles for short trips as well as provide transportation around campus in between classes and meetings. This project also has the potential to help downtown business. These businesses are often forgotten due to large corporations but are a major part of the Springfield community. By including them we can perhaps obtain their interest and support in sustainability programs and at the same time spark our students’ interest in the downtown area. The Green Bike Program provides the means to make the downtown area more accessible to our students.

During the pilot period the downtown businesses should be approached by project managers and their committee and asked to support the program. Their support will come in the form of discounts and bonuses for students that ride their bikes to their shops. Hopefully this will give students incentive to ride downtown instead of driving to their store of choice. In the meantime, this program is educating our students about the initiatives of the growing Springfield biking community.

To conclude, Campus Bike Programs are a fast growing trend across the nation. They are providing a much-needed service to students while proving to be economically and mechanically sustainable. Although the Green Bike Program is proposed to start small, after two short academic years the Green Bike Program will be common place at Missouri State University; this is an example of sustainability for the Springfield community. The goal is to provide a much-needed service to our students while doing our part to educate tomorrow’s leaders and pioneer a path to more accountability in protecting our environment. Last and certainly not least, the program promotes positive attitudes toward an active and healthy lifestyle while enjoying the close-knit community atmosphere that is part of student life at Missouri State University.

  1. Administrative Support (if applicable)