After two hours of back and forth debate, ASMSU, MSU’s undergraduate student government, decided to move forward on the bike share initiative that would put 40 bikes at 10 locations on campus for student rental use.
The bill, which was approved at the Thursday night general assembly meeting, will cost $60,000 to come out of ASMSU’s special projects fund and will cover the cost of 40 bikes provided by Zagster, a bike share and rental company. The cost also covers the installation of the bike share facilities, year-round maintenance, technical support and marketing.
ASMSU members cited a desire to do something for students and creating a sustainable transportation program as main reasons for passing the bill. ASMSU Interim President Michael Mozina introduced the bill. Mozina became president after Vice President of Academic Affairs Mitchell Goheen declined the position.
Former president Evan Martinak graduated in December, forcing ASMSU to hold special elections. Representatives voted against holding an election, since it went against the ASMSU bylaws. Final elections will be held Feb. 6, Mozina said.
“If only three percent of the undergraduate population bought a year-long pass, we would completely recoup our costs,” Mozina said. “This is also a huge sustainability issue on campus. Lost and broken bikes and bike disposal are a huge problem with the university.
“Bike storage in the winter is a problem with students,” he said. “Giving students an opportunity to participate in bike sharing will alleviate the problem on campus.”
Despite the bill passing, there was a lot of resistance to the bill among representatives and public commentators.
Journalism senior Monica Reida took matters into her own hands and conducted a small survey of the residents in Owen Hall, which she presented at the meeting as a public commentator. Of the 37 responses, 65 percent said they would not utilize the bike share program. Fifty-four percent said they would support the idea.
“The main reason students were against the bike share was because of the huge problem with biking on campus not being safe,” Reida said. “They see multiple accidents every week and I personally have been involved in an accident. The main takeaway here is that Owen Hall residents will not use it.”
Representative Christopher Baldwin was one of many who spoke against the bike share program. He cited a lack of student interest as his main reason for opposition.
“My concern is I’m not seeing it to be of use to enough people,” Baldwin said. “Some contracts will make you pay full amount whether or not you end early. It’s a large amount of money and a large risk. The $18 students give us, we should be careful what we do with it.”
ASMSU hopes to target incoming freshmen to increase potential usage of the program.
The bike share program is scheduled to be fully functional on campus in late August of this year.
Editor’s note: This article has been changed to accurately convey the results of a bike share survey conducted in Owen Hall.
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