Students use bike work stations to maintain their bicycles.
For students who bike around the campus, flat tires are no longer an excuse for missing class.
In recent years, the Department of Transportation Services and other university organizations have encouraged students to use bikes, in line with the university’s sustainability goals. But on such a large campus, students who needed to repair their bikes found the department’s resources — namely checking out air pumps from the DOTS office or McKeldin Library or visiting the Campus Bike Shop in Cole Field House — few and far between.
So this year, bikeUMD — a DOTS collaboration with Facilities Management, Campus Recreation Services and other organizations — installed small bike repair stations around the campus, hoping to give students the tools and information to repair their bikes without forcing them to trudge across the campus. The stations are located near the chemistry building, Easton Hall, the Mowatt Lane Garage, the Graham Cracker — the sorority houses between College Avenue and Knox Road — and the Union Lane Garage, and one will soon be installed near the math building.
“You get your bike repaired for free in exchange for learning [how to fix it],” said Jordan Arata, a sophomore mechanical engineering major.
Each station includes an air pump, a few tools and QR codes students can scan to view instructional videos on minor bike repairs.
Many of the repairs workers deal with at the bike shop are “simple things that many people can do but don’t have the means to do,” said sophomore engineering and materials science major Louis Levine, a Campus Bike Shop mechanic. The new stations give students these abilities, he said.
“No matter what time it is, you’ll never have to be stranded without a bike because you need air in your tires
or your handlebars are loose and the bike shop has already closed,” he said. “In short, they’re simple, convenient and accessible. I’m a fan.”
The bike repair stations are just one of many university initiatives to promote and protect biking on the campus. In October 2012, the university was named a silver-level bike-friendly campus by the League of American Bicyclists, DOTS assistant director Beverly Malone said. New shared lane markings on campus roads make biking safer for students, Malone said. She added that officials hope making biking easier and safer will make it more popular.
DOTS holds events, such as U-lock giveaways and a weeklong fair in April, to popularize the mode of transportation and distribute safety-related information about safeguards such as wearing a helmet and properly securing a U-lock. Students can also register their bikes on the campus at some events, Malone said.
Cyclists receive many benefits from biking on the campus, Malone said. When they register their bikes — which is free — they can purchase U-locks, helmets and lights from DOTS for $20 each. Students can also rent bikes for $70 a semester or trade in their parking permits for bicycles.
