Bicycles Offered Free for Local Rides
MANCHESTER Have a hankering for a frothy Starbucks Grande Latte, but don't have a car?
No problem, if you are a Southern New Hampshire University student. Just borrow a bike from the school, pedal three miles to downtown and sip away.
While students, staff and faculty with a valid school ID may use the bikes for any reason, the school hopes the new Penmen Bike Rental Program will provide eco-friendly transportation to explore Greater Manchester or to traverse the growing campus.
An international student had seen a bike rental operation in Paris and approached college President Paul J. LeBlanc in September about starting a similar program on the SNHU campus. LeBlanc liked the idea, and the Penmen Bike Rental Program began Oct. 14.
The first student to use the program rode to Starbucks for a coffee, then back to campus.
Since its inception, 40 to 45 students have signed out the bikes, eight students at least two times.
Graduate student Sarah Sparrow has been a frequent rider, using the bikes for exercise and to go to downtown Manchester.'I lived in England for a year and didn't have a car, so I walked everywhere I went. I got used to the lifestyle, and then I got back to the States and have to drive my car again and pay the outrageous gas prices,' she said. 'It's ridiculous.'Sparrow, who is working on her second master's degree, works near the Millyard downtown. Once warmer weather arrives next spring, she hopes to use the bikes to travel to and from her job and not use her car at all.'It's four miles down and four miles back. I don't know how many calories that will burn, but environmentally, it's great to use the bikes,' Sparrow said.The school has a good bus system, which also helps to reduce emissions, she said. 'The bikes make people a little more aware there are alternatives as opposed to having your own car on campus.'The school purchased six bikes in partnership with Goodale's Bike Shop and have three available at the Student Center and three at the athletic complex equipment room.
Any student, staff or faculty member with a university ID may borrow a bike for four-hour intervals between 9 a.m. and sunset. The use of a bike includes a helmet, a cable lock and a lock key. A user fills out an agreement form, reviews a safety and equipment checklist and is given a campus map with the locations of 10 bike racks for parking.
Scott Tierno, director of student life, said the bikes have been used 64 times in the first few weeks of the program. He expects use to increase in the spring and summer.
When the program began, the school announced it to students via e-mail.'We're promoting the idea of pedal power, of not using your car,' Tierno said.Junior Scott Davis likes the idea of helping the environment, but says he uses the bikes more for recreation and fitness.
Scott Tierno, Southern New Hampshire University director of student life, says the initial response by students for using loaner bikes to get around campus has been good. (BOB LAPREE)'I know originally (the bikes were touted as an) alternative form of transportation around Manchester. But I'm most excited -- and I think most students are -- for the recreational opportunity they provide,' he said.The university is making huge strides with the bikes and other programs to become a green school, Davis said, and that 'will really benefit them in the long run.'Because the school has put night and continuing education classes online, many students can save gas by not commuting to the campus, he said.
SNHU -- the first carbon neutral campus in New Hampshire -- is striving to become a green school. In the spring, SNHU was honored by the Environmental Protection Agency for buying 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources.
The university has about 1,900 traditional full-time undergraduate day students and a total enrollment in all divisions of about 9,425.