SBU Program Re-Cycles Old Bikes

Fourteen brown and white bicycles will pop up across the St. Bonaventure University campus this weekend as organizers roll out the Bona Re-Cycles bike share program.

The bikes, creatively and distinctively painted in Bonaventure colors, will be parked in University bike racks and are available to any campus community member who wants to pedal instead of hoof it across campus.

Bona Re-Cycles is a “completely grass roots effort,” said Nancy Casey, associate professor of education. “The idea was hatched one day last fall when a bunch of us were riding our bikes. We had some conversations and just decided to try it.”

The idea is not new, said Casey. Bike share programs have sprung up on college campuses and in cities across the U.S. The time was right to try it at Bona’s.

The call for used bicycles went out to students, faculty and staff. Of the 20 two-wheelers that came in, 14 have been made road worthy while the remainder wait for needed repairs. The bikes were painted by students as a Welcome Days activity at the start of the semester.

“We had 50 students come out to help,” said Casey. “They can’t wait to ride them.”

Participation in the program couldn’t be easier. Need a bike? See a bike? Take it. Just remember to park it in a University rack when you’re done with it so someone else can use it. There’s no fee, no form to fill out – and no guarantee that the bike you borrowed to get to your class in Plassmann Hall on time will be waiting for you when class is over. “That’s the serendipity of it,” said Casey. “Hey, what the heck! You have to have a little fun in life.”

The Bona Re-Cycles program is so new that there is no formal overseeing organization, just Casey and a handful of good-intentioned University faculty and staff. “We’re working to get a group together to really guide this,” said Casey, adding it could become an organization chartered through Student Government.

Presently, she is working with Philip Winger, associate vice president for facilities, and others to secure more bike racks for placement around campus. Donations of bikes in working order are being accepted, and those who know something about bicycle repair are invited to volunteer their services.

There has been a dramatic increase in the number of students with bicycles on campus this year, said Casey, a sign, perhaps, that high gas prices and go-green movements are changing behavior.

“I think the time is right for this kind of thing,” said Casey. “We’ve had a terrific response from students and faculty. And with Bona Re-Cycles, students who don’t have bikes can get in the riding habit, too.”

Anyone interested in helping out with Bona Re-Cycles or who has questions about the program may e-mail Casey at ncasey@sbu.edu.

(In the photo, courtesy of St. Bonaventure University, Danielle Butler, a freshman psychology major from Orangeburg, N.Y., paints one of the bikes being used in the Bona Re-Cycles program.)