Bikes-for-cars for grad students

By Jaclyn Youngblood     3/26/09 7:00pm

Trees are not the only thing spring has turned green around Rice. A new green initiative spearheaded by Graduate Housing Manager Abeer Ali Mustafa and Associate Vice President of Housing and Dining Mark Ditman has brought 35 bicycles to graduate students living at the Rice Village Apartments.Students who sign up for a 12- month housing agreement and agree not to register a car at the apartments are eligible to receive one of 33 free bicycles. The other two bicycles have been set aside for temporary use by those students who have a car but still want to bike occasionally, Mustafa said.

He said the project is modeled after similar projects at the University of New England and the University of Colorado and has three main goals.

"The first goal is environmental sustainability," Mustafa said. "[The] second goal is the wellness of the graduate students and third would be to be competitive to other universities."

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Director of Sustainability Richard Johnson agreed with Mustafa.

"The free bicycle program makes graduate programs at Rice more competitive," Johnson said in an e-mail.

Ditman said the City of Houston set building criteria for the construction of the apartments, including a reduction in the number of parking spaces at the apartments. One way the university encouraged graduate students not to register cars at the apartments and prevented the construction of additional parking spots was by modifying the shuttle service schedule.

The bikes provide another option, Ditman said.

"The bike program . was in the spirit of creating a housing operation [where] you didn't have to have a car if you didn't want to have one," he said.

The apartment complex has 137 units for graduate students but only 100 parking spaces. Ditman said purchasing the bicycles cost less than building additional parking spots.

"It was a very productive business decision," Ditman said.

The funds used to purchase the bikes came from the rent proceeds of the apartments, Ditman said.

The Giant Boulder-brand bikes were purchased at Bicycle World and Fitness and usually retail for $735. However, Mustafa said the university received a discount on the bikes from the store. The Giant Boulder brand was chosen for its adherence to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design specifications.

"[Giant Boulder] has an environmental program that supports the LEED-certification specifications," Mustafa said.

Once the students receive the bikes, they are theirs to keep, Mustafa said.

To ensure security of the bicycles, students will be able to park and lock them in a storage facility in the building that has approximately 130 bicycle parking spots.

Mustafa said that if prospective residents show interest in obtaining bicycles in the future, accommodations will be made to ensure the program continues.

Ditman said there are no current plans to bring this project to the other graduate housing areas, such as the apartments on Bissonnet. However, he said it could be considered in the future.

"As the university goes in a more sustainable direction, [the program] would be a benefit," Ditman said. "To see Rice getting a little more [sustainably] oriented ... is a great thing."

All 33 bikes have already been claimed by graduate students. Mustafa said the students are very excited and happy that the initiative is available to them.

"We actually gave bike lessons to one student who doesn't know how to drive a car or ride a bike," Mustafa said.

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