You can read this article, originally published by WLFI, below.
By: Cameron Hardin | August 26, 2022
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind, (WLFI) — If you see more Purdue students riding bikes this year, it is all thanks to a new bike share program put on by Zagster.
The company launched its bike share program on campus two weeks ago, and Purdue President Mitch Daniels believes this is the start of something big.
“This along with the other obvious attractive features — wellness, fitness and environmental friendly — the Zagster program provides even more convenience than we already have,” said Daniels. “…I hope it means a lot more convenience for our students. We are very intent on minimizing the travel time whether it’s on foot or some other way. We want students to get to class and where they are going as fast as they can.”
Daniels has spoken strongly in the past about the importance of on-campus living, and he see’s this helping with that process.
“Those who live on campus do better academically, and this is another way to make that more convenient and more attractive,” Daniels explained.
CEO and co-founder of the Zagster program, Timothy Ericson, says Purdue has always been a place of interest for him.
“I think Purdue is a very interesting campus because you have a lot of people that inherently grew up with bikes — one of the campuses with the most international students who are used to riding bikes but don’t have their own bike here,” said Ericson.
Zagster invested in urban style cruiser bikes, which according to Ericson are an easy to use and safer to ride. So far, he said the investment is paying off.
“It’s been phenomenal, we’ve had nearly 2,400 rentals in two weeks, and the majority of that was before the students were on campus. That equates to five rentals per bike per day, which beats out the cities like New York and Boston,” explained Ericson.
Supply and demand is the name of the game, and President Daniels says expanding is the goal.
“The early demand more than validates our getting into this program project, and I hope it gets so strong that it grows significantly,” said Daniels.
In order to use the program, you must download the app on your phone and pay a yearly membership fee of $25 or pay $5 for a 24-hour pass.
On weekdays, rides shorter than three hours are free; after three hours, the cost is $2 an hour up to $10 per ride. On Saturdays and Sundays, members can ride up to six hours at no additional charge; after six hours, the cost is $2 an hour up to $10 per ride.
There are currently 50 bikes located across campus, but President Daniels and Ericson are confident that number will go up.