Bicycle Rental Program

Jim Lewis, Director of International Pre-Admissions and Recruiting, one of the offices within the Office of International Programs, runs a small bicycle rental program at KSU for exchange students, English Language Program students, and short-term sponsored graduate students.

The program was started in the fall of 2003 with a request from the Office of International Programs to the community, in classified ads and in signs on bulletin boards around town, for donations of unused bicycles. Jim overhauled all of the bikes, licensed them with K-State licenses and his own rental program tags, and got them ready to sign out to arriving fall '03 students.

For $10.00 a semester, a student receives a bicycle, a lock, and free repair. Jim rebuilds every bike that is donated or he that finds at garage sales, so that it is safe and functional. Although there are several kinds of bicycles in the fleet, Jim has tried to focus on getting basic three-speed bicycles with upright handlebars and fenders. A front basket has been added to almost all of the bikes.

Type:Transportation

Impact:

The numbers of bikes signed out each semester for the past five and a half years has varied from 25 to 50. As of fall '08, the number signed out is 27, which is about the maximum number of bicycles that Jim can handle, since this is a job he does in his spare time.

The program has been self-supporting since fall 2004. The rental fees cover costs of replacement parts and locks. Labor is free. About 400 different international students have rented bicycles since fall '03.

Credit: James E. Lewis

Contact: James E. Lewis

Tagged:bicycle-rental, transportation