CAMPUS GUIDE TO BIKE SHARE. h o w t o p l a n a n d l a u n c h a s u c c e s s f u l u n i v e r s i t y b i k e s h a r e p r o g r a m

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1 CAMPUS GUIDE TO BIKE SHARE h o w t o p l a n a n d l a u n c h a s u c c e s s f u l u n i v e r s i t y b i k e s h a r e p r o g r a m

2 The bicycle is the most loved form of transportation. No other machine allows for such efficient transportation and the freedom to adventure, on demand.

3 INTRODUCTION 3 Bike sharing is a platform that improves the quality of people's lives and their communities. Are you considering bringing bike sharing to your university s campus? This guide discusses the key things you need to consider as you plan a bike sharing program for your campus. A well run bike sharing program is more than another campus amenity it s an integral part of the campus transportation network. Considering the factors discussed in this document will empower you to overcome the complexities and challenges of establishing a successful bike share program for your campus. Zagster s planning, launch and operations teams are experienced in managing on-demand campus transportation networks. We have successfully implemented campus programs, large and small, around the country and are happy to work with you in developing a plan for your bike sharing program. ZAGSTER UNIVERSITIES If you have questions, get in touch. Our mission is to help students, faculty and administrators establish successful bike share programs on their campuses. Zagster Campus Guide to Bike Share

4 4 9 STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL CAMPUS BIKE SHARE Don t underestimate the complexity of launching and running a new transportation network on your campus. Considering these 9 steps when planning your bike share program will help you to fully prepare to select the right partners and equipment to allow for successful launch and long-run growth of your campus new bike share Ensure bike sharing aligns with the university's goals Design a great rider experience Determine what type of bike share program to implement Determine locations for bike stations Calculate the number of bikes your campus needs Create a strategy for launch, marketing and rider education Plan the fundamentals of bike share operations Give the university predictable costs & responsibilities Plan for growth and expansion

5 A well planned bike share is essential to meet the university's goals of providing efficient and convenient mode of transit for students, faculty and visitors. 5 Zagster Campus Guide to Bike Share

6 6 1. ENSURE BIKE SHARING ALIGNS WITH YOUR UNIVERSITY'S GOALS Bike sharing programs are a highly visible addition to a campus transportation system. In order to launch a successful bike sharing program, it s critical that you identify stakeholders and clearly demonstrate that bike sharing aligns with the goals of the campus. Some common campus goals that our partners have achieved with bike sharing programs include: More efficient movement around campus Decrease single occupancy vehicle use Reduce strain on campus parking Reduce campus traffic congestion Improve the health of students & employees Increase the perceived value of the campus to prospective students Reduce the number of bikes in residence halls Reduce bike theft and abandonment Your campus may have different or additional goals to these. Also, your campus may prioritize these goals differently. It s important to include all key stakeholders in your discussion about bringing a bike share program to your campus. These may include: Student Affairs and Campus Life, Facilities, Transportation, Residential Services, Business Services, Sustainability Organizations and Student Government.

7 2. DESIGN A GREAT RIDER EXPERIENCE 7 CHECKOUT AND UNLOCKING Do riders need to talk to someone to checkout a bike? Do they need to use a mobile app? Can they unlock a bike using their campus ID? LEVEL OF AVAILABILITY Are bikes available 24/7 on-demand or does someone need to be on duty to check them out? Where will riders be able to find bikes? TRIP FORMAT Where can a rider take their bike? Does a trip have to end at the station where they first took the bike, or can they make one-way trips? Can a rider take a break and lock up the bike during their trip? COST TO USERS Do you provide the program for free? Do riders pay an annual membership, perride or time-based fee? It may be important to select a program that allows you to adjust the pricing model as the system matures. CHECKOUT TIME How long can a rider take a bike for? Do you expect riders to just get around campus, or can they take the bike on longer errands or even adventures? ACCESSIBILITY What kinds of bikes are available to riders? Can you offer a mix of bike styles for differently-abled riders or specific tasks (such as cargo transportation)? A bike sharing program is only as good as the experience of its riders. Take time to evaluate and decide on the rider experience you want to deliver. Zagster Campus Guide to Bike Share

8 8 3. DETERMINE WHAT TYPE OF BIKE SHARING SYSTEM WORKS FOR YOUR CAMPUS Based on the type of rider experience you want to design, you will need to decide between the different types of bike share programs. When campuses talk to us about bringing bike sharing to their community, they often ask what their options are for the setup and structure of their program. While every bike share program is designed with the goal of giving people greater access to bikes, different program formats offer different advantages in terms of the types of bike trips they enable (longer rentals or shorter, on-demand trips), management, security, tracking and costs. At a high level, there are two basic types of bicycle sharing systems: the bike library and distributed bike sharing. Bike Libraries The bike library, sometimes also called a bike corral, is a central, staffed location where publicly available bikes are stored and checked out to riders. Just like a traditional library, bike libraries will often carry different types of bicycles for different purposes. Checkout times range from a few hours to several weeks and the rentals are usually very low cost or free for certain groups in the area. Bike libraries support a range of specialized bicycles (like mountain or road bikes), group rentals, longer rental periods and planned usage. Because bike libraries are by nature staffed, they have limited operating hours and usually only a few locations, so riders must plan ahead to rent and return a bike. This means that while bike libraries support increased access to bikes, they do not enable ondemand local transportation in the same way that a distributed bike sharing system does. Notwithstanding major promotional efforts, bike libraries often see much lower ridership rates than a highly-visible distributed bike share. Distributed Bike Share Like the bike library, a distributed bike share system allows for the public use of shared bicycles. The advantage of a distributed bike share is that bikes are available at multiple locations in a community, on-demand and without the need for a staff member to check the bike out to a rider. This allows riders to truly use the bike share as a transportation alternative for ondemand, local trips. Because there are multiple stations, riders can take convenient one-way trips, using a bike to get to their destination quickly and cheaply. There are three formats of distributed bike sharing systems: 1. Ad-hoc 2. Kiosk, tech-on-station 3. Tech-on-bike

9 GUIDE TO DISTRIBUTED BIKE SHARE SYSTEMS 9 Ad-hoc The original bike sharing systems were ad-hoc. Fundamentally, an ad-hoc system involves the operator purchasing and distributing marked bicycles across the community without any locking technology or bike stations. Ad-hoc systems can work on closed campuses where program costs and the tracking of equipment, rides or riders is not a priority (e.g.: on a corporate campus like Google s). Because of issues with costs from theft and damage plus the difficulty of maintaining un-tracked bicycles around a community, the majority of modern bike shares do not run as ad-hoc programs. Kiosk Many of the largest metropolitan bike share programs are kiosk-based. In a kiosk system, bikes are secured to and rented from tech-enabled docking stations. These stations range in sophistication from simple bike racks with key lockboxes to digital automatic locking kiosks with integrated rental systems. The advantages of kiosk systems are their ability to control access, streamline maintenance and reduce theft. The disadvantage to kiosk systems is their high acquisition and operating costs. Tech-on-bike The most modern development in bike sharing is tech-on-bike. In tech-on-bike systems, the locking and rental technology is located on the bike itself. Bike stations are simple and inexpensive. Riders checkout bikes using an app which allows them to release the lock that secures the bike to the rack. A tech-on-bike system allows for more flexibility in the types of bikes available to riders and the types of trips riders take. Because a station is not required to secure the bike, the system allows for a rider to secure the bike at any place along their ride. Tech-on-bike systems use standard bike locking technology, simple stations and standard-style bicycles, meaning overall costs tend to be lower than kiosk systems. Zagster Campus Guide to Bike Share

10 10 4. DETERMINE LOCATIONS FOR BIKE STATIONS CENTRAL CAMPUS DINING RESIDENCES TRANSPORTATION Station placement is critical to maximize system visibility and ridership. Stations should be conveniently located, next to, but not in, major thoroughfares. Stations benefit from being easily visible and located near to appropriate trails or roads for biking. You should also consider how you place stations to encourage trips between central and more distant parts of campus, including parking lots, staff buildings and residence halls. The placement of the bike share stations also depends on aspects such as concentration of students nearby, pedestrian and vehicular traffic passing by, and the availability of protection from weather. Finally, the bikes should be secure at this location and riders should be able to distinguish bicycles of the bike share from other personal bicycles on campus.

11 STATION LOCATIONS 11 Common On-Campus Locations Central library Dining & residence halls Quad or campus core Key academic buildings Health center Parking lots Campus entry points (gates or roads) Sports centers (including recreation centers and stadiums) Common Off-Campus Locations Downtown destinations including restaurant and shopping areas Local transportation centers like bus and train stations Major city areas such as event centers and parks Off-campus student housing properties Additionally, the placement of stations is dependent on the number of bikes that you have in your bike share system. We recommend a 2:1 ratio of parking spots to bikes, meaning that when the system is perfectly balanced, stations are 50% full. This leaves plenty of room for riders to take and leave bikes and minimizes the number of times you need to rebalance your system. Zagster Campus Guide to Bike Share

12 12 5. CALCULATE THE NUMBER OF BIKES YOUR CAMPUS NEEDS Accurately predicting the number of bikes you will need on your campus can seem like rocket science. You don t want too few bikes and have students lose trust in the reliability of the system. You also don t want too many, with unused bikes sitting alone at the stations. An ideal number of bikes means that each station is anywhere between 30-50% full at any time, leaving enough bikes to checkout but always enough space for a rider to drop off a bike. But how many bikes do you need? In general, we recommend looking at four factors when planning your system size: Population The total campus population that could use the bike sharing system including students, faculty, staff and visitors. Regular Users Ideally, each station will be 30-50% full at any given time. Percentage of population that would use the system on a regular basis. Weekly Trips Average trips taken by a regular rider per week. Trip Duration Average length of a trip taken by a regular rider. In general, this means that we recommend campuses to start between potential riders per bike in the system. If you would like more guidance on estimating system size, we work with many campuses to help determine the exact number of bikes to start with. Contact us for further insight.

13 6. CREATE A STRATEGY FOR LAUNCH, MARKETING AND EDUCATION The most critical moment of your bike share system is the launch. Strong user adoption and good education will set your program up for success and allow for a snowball of user adoption on your campus. 13 If your launch leaves potential riders with a negative experience due to lack of education, awareness or abuse, the system can snowball in the opposite direction leading to a cycle of low ridership and mistrust in the system. Planning your launch day around a time of year when students, faculty and staff are on campus and not engaged with critical academic activities (i.e.: finals week) is essential to any promotional campaign s success. During the launch, it is important to host rider education sessions and have compelling educational materials to show riders the right way to use the new bike share system. Rider promotion is paramount to the success of a campus bike share program. The criticality of a functional, well-designed and aesthetically pleasing station cannot be understated. Additionally, you should think about ways that you and your bike share provider can collaborate to get more people to try the new bike share system and spread the word around campus. Zagster Campus Guide to Bike Share

14 14 7. PLAN THE FUNDAMENTALS OF BIKE SHARE OPERATIONS Designing, purchasing, installing and launching a bike share system is only the beginning. While these activities are necessary, campuses should be cognizant of the fact that the majority of time and expense related to having bike share will be spent on operations, support and maintenance. These are the key aspects to the long run operations, support and maintenance of a bike share system that you should plan for and resolve before you launch your program. KEY 1 RESPONSIBILITY Who is ultimately responsible for the system day to day? When something goes wrong, who gets the call? KEY 3 RIDER SUPPORT If a rider has a problem with or a question about the system, who can they talk to? Do you have a reliable, informed and empowered contact that can work with the rider to resolve their issue? KEY 2 LIABILITY Where does liability fall for bike or property damage? Rider injury? The best bike share programs come with, or set aside, an insurance policy for liability coverage.

15 KEY 4 REBALANCING If you are allowing point to point trips, how often and who is responsible for reallocating bikes evenly across the system? 15 KEY 5 CLEANING & MAINTAINENCE Bike share bikes are ridden significantly more often than personal bikes, sometimes up to 5 hours a day. Also, dirty bikes and stations leave a bad impression and lead to lower ridership. You must identify someone with experience in bike mechanics that is responsible for regular maintenance of the bikes as well as account for the costs of replacement bike parts and repair time. KEY 6 EMERGENCY REPAIRS With any bike share system, parts are bound to break. Sometimes, something as simple as an accidental flat tire can render a bike unusable. When an emergency fix is needed, who is responsible and how does the campus pay for part or bike replacements? KEY 7 STORAGE Due to weather or other factors, there may be times when you must take all bikes off the ground for secure storage. If you anticipate this being necessary on your campus, it is critical to have a plan, or work with your bike share provider, to ensure fast and safe storage of your fleet. Zagster Campus Guide to Bike Share

16 16 8. GIVE THE UNIVERSITY PREDICTABLE COSTS & RESPONSIBLITIES Eliminate variable costs. The biggest issue many campuses face with bike share programs is that the upfront costs regarding bikes, stations and system launch are fixed and predictable. However the ongoing, everyday expenses of operating, supporting and maintaining a bike share system can be highly variable. In our experience, these ongoing operational costs can make up the bulk of the university s cost for running a bike sharing program. Plan for the long run. It is important to consider the long-run responsibility and budgeting ability of the campus. Even the most highly talented and motivated group of students will eventually graduate. Plan ahead to ensure that the campus can support and operate the program over the course of 5, 10 years or longer. Additionally, many organizations prioritize budget predictability and stable costs over a rock-bottom price. The ability to reliably plan for the expense of running a program may be more attractive for budget authorities than getting something that is cheaper upfront but fluctuates in its demand for money and time. 60% OPERATIONS When campuses own and operate their own programs, we see a rough price breakdown of 40% of overall program costs going towards the initial equipment purchase and 60% of overall program costs going towards ongoing maintenance, support and replacement activities. 40% 60% 100% Capital equipment costs Ongoing, variable operational costs Total cost of ownership

17 PLAN FOR GROWTH AND EXPANSION Every campus bike share program s goal should be growth. A healthy bike share is a growing bike share. We see well-run bike shares become an integral part of the transportation network on their campuses, enabling better trips and healthy adventures for all of the people who work, live and study on campus. When you plan your bike share, think about the options for growth. As more bikes are added to the system, will there be a way to scale operations in a way that controls costs? sharing technology again? It's also important to plan for ongoing rider marketing and education. Every year, a portion of your campus will be new students so ongoing activities to help them be engaged with and properly educated about your system is important. The best bike share providers include this in their services and are always working to help the system grow in ridership and influence for the campus. Does your system get automatic upgrades and access to new technology or will the campuses need to purchase bikes and Zagster Campus Guide to Bike Share

18 18 SUMMARY Don t underestimate the complexity of launching and running a new transportation network on your campus. Considering the steps discussed in this guide when you plan your bike share program will help you to fully prepare to select the right partners and equipment to allow for successful launch and long-run growth of your campus new bike share. WANT TO LEARN MORE? Zagster s planning, launch and operations team is experienced in managing ondemand campus transportation networks. Get in touch with us to learn more about how we can help you in planning or implementing a bike share program for your campus. Visit for more information. We make bike sharing successful on your campus.

19 19 90% of new launches in 2014 & 2015 Zagster's bike share expertise is trusted by campuses. We launched 90% of new bike share programs in the United States in Zagster Campus Guide to Bike Share