Bike share coming to University of Memphis
The Explore Bike Share system that launched in Memphis earlier this year will expand onto the University of Memphis campus next fall.
U of M received $580,000 through a federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grant to fund the installation of docking stations with a total of 60 bikes throughout campus.
The funding also will pay for a oneyear membership to the bike share program for about 2,000 students, the university’s sustainability manager Amelia Mayahi said.
The university previously sought an opportunity to offer bikes on campus for short-term rentals, she said, and chose Explore because of its use throughout the rest of the city.
The university already has a longterm bike rental program on campus with a mechanical shop. A student in the law school, located Downtown, asked for a similar program at that campus, Mayahi said. It wasn’t practical to set up a whole other shop there, she said, but the citywide program filled that void.
“I’m seeing the need and the want from students to have these kinds of alternative transportation options,” she said.
The university currently does not have designated places for the other popular new mode of transportation, electronic scooters. Mayahi said she sees the scooters from rental company Bird across campus from time to time, and hopes to formally bring the program to U of M at some point.
The university will have five Explore bike docking stations on the main campus and one on the Park Avenue campus.
Parking problems have plagued the main campus for years. A new garage is under construction, but Mayahi said the availability of more bikes should help, too.
“It is really more convenient for the student and it’s a lot better on us with the growing pains that we’re having,” she said.
Mayahi said she already sees students riding the bikes from elsewhere across town onto campus, and many students ride their own bikes or use the long-term rental program.
Explore Bike Share launched in May in Memphis with 600 bikes and will grow to 900 bikes by next fall, according to the release. The bikes are mostly available in areas of Downtown, Midtown and South Memphis.
Currently, the closest bike share docking station to the university is at Southern Avenue and Semmes Street, which is just more than a mile from the edge of campus.
“We see tremendous value in Explore Bike Share, and believe it will be an innovative way to service our students’ needs and increase our sustainability by increasing mobility options, relieving the pressure of parking by reducing motor vehicle usage and getting our students engaged in the community,” President M. David Rudd said in a statement.