Tufts Bikes last week added 12 new bicycles to its school bike-share program, bringing the total number of bikes in the program to 30.
According to Tufts Bikes President Benjamin Hoffman, the gradual deterioration of the original bicycles necessitated their replacement.
The bikes were four years old, getting a lot of use, Hoffman, a sophomore said. As the bikes broke, the share shrunk a bit.
Tufts Bikes Vice President Adam Meyer added that the new bikes are better-suited for universitys hilly campus.
We found a bike with equivalent durability [to the old bikes] but that would ride even better, Meyer, a sophomore, said.
According to Hoffman, the bikes were purchased through a supplementary funding allocation from Tufts Community Union Senate. Hoffman emphasized the role that Tufts Bikes student volunteers play in the management of the bike share.
People do love the bike share but they dont really know that Tufts Bikes is connected to the bike-share, Hoffman said. Were very much trying to increase Tufts Bikes notoriety on campus, and part of that is implementing these new programs.
One such program involves the integration of stickers from Boston-based Bicycle Benefits to incentivize biking as an environmentally friendly and efficient mode of transportation.
These are small stickers that we will stick on every single one of our bike share helmets, and if you have that helmet, you get discounts at certain stores and restaurants in Boston, Hoffman said. For example, if you go to Diesel [Cafe] in Davis Square and show them your helmet [you get] free coffee.
Meyer also emphasized the potential benefits of borrowing bicycles from the bike share.
More than anything, [the bikes] give people a nice way to get off of campus, he said. It also opens up other parts of Somerville and Medford.
Hoffman echoed this sentiment and added that Boston is not a great city for bikes.
There are a lot of people who want a way to get around fast, but at the same time might not want a car, he said. There is the element of creating a bike-friendly environment. Bikes really are the most efficient, green way of travelling.
Hoffman hopes that the new bikes will help raise this awareness. Students interested in renting a bike can check one out from the library for eight hours or, if they take it after 10:00 p.m., can keep it overnight.
I think what it comes down to is that there is a lot of potential for bike riding at Tufts, he said. Ride bikes, theyre fun!
