Campus Commuters: PCC’s exciting new bike rental program
By Britt Appleton, Social Media Specialist
In November, we were contacted by members of the Portland Community College’s Cascade campus community who were interested in developing a bike rental program. It was Julie Davenport, the Communications Coordinator for ASPCC (Associated Students of Portland Community College) who had the idea. She got it, she says, from a conference at Washington State University, specifically a workshop titled, “Creating a Bike-Friendly Campus.” As of November, 10% of students at the Cascade campus commuted to school by bicycle. The school aims to grow that number.
The program that Julie developed is modeled loosely on the program she learned about in that workshop. Julie, and ASPCC President Doug Taylor, met with Shop General Manager, Jonnie Ling, and Production Manager, James Keating, to talk about a potential partnership. James rode one of our refurbished bicycles to the meeting so they would see the kind of bike we could provide. It was an early 1990s mountain bike restored and equipped to be commuter friendly. Doug and Julie liked the bike.
A few weeks later the project was approved. It is being funded by a grant through The Green Initiative Fund, which is a part of the student activities fee. James oversaw the refurbishment of the first 20 bikes, while installing accessories ordered from Cyclone Bicycle Supply and Portland Design Works. Those bikes were delivered in January. The second batch of 30 bikes will be delivered March 15. Julie hopes to grow the fleet to 100 bicycles. The bikes are now available to students at the Cascade campus for only $15 a term, including helmet, lights, fenders, bells, and a lock.
Congratulations to Julie and the ASPCC for all of their hard work. We are excited to play a role in helping members of the Cascade campus of Portland Community College have better access to bicycling in their community. PCC’s bicycle initiative serves as an inspiration to student bodies across the nation.