The bike co-op program at the Sun Devil Fitness Complex that started the first day of the semester will provide a free bike rental service in a few weeks.
The co-op offers tune-ups, repairs, cleanings and inspections for students. It also provides training for students on how to repair their own bikes. Students will soon be able to rent bikes for up to seven days at a time.
Plans to provide traffic skills classes are also in the works and the co-op will be open to students during the summer.
USGD President Frank Smith allocated funds from his budget to make the program free for students. The total implementation cost was $10,000.
“I hope people take advantage of the resources because this is a big project that student government has accomplished,” he said. “This is something that’s really tangible to see what their government can do for them.”
Smith said the convenience of location, potential for healthier student lifestyles and sustainability are major benefits of the co-op.
He said an increasing number of students are using their bikes more often as the Downtown Phoenix campus is growing. And when the fitness complex opened last year, it provided a convenient location for the co-op.
“It couldn’t have been a better time than now,” Smith said.
Student coordinator Erik Turtle runs the co-op and said student reception to the program has been “entirely positive” so far.
“We haven’t gotten a whole lot of business quite yet, but that’s just about getting the word out,” he said. “It is a free service that we are offering to the student body. I’d like to see more students take advantage of it.”
Most of the students who have come in so far have simply needed air in their tires, Turtle said.
“We already have a significant bike community, we just don’t have a lot of awareness quite yet,” he said.
Criminal justice and criminology senior Julie Parra said the bike racks, bike lanes and lack of crowded streets help make Phoenix a bike-friendly community, but not all students downtown use bikes.
“It seems more useful in Tempe because classes can be far apart, but here you can walk,” she said.
Health and wellness sophomore Nate Skotak said the co-op is a convenient option for students. He highlighted the speed and affordability of the co-op over other bike repair shops.
“It can be a hassle because there’s nowhere else around here that you can go,” he said. “It’s just a cheaper option for a lot of students.”
Skotak said he uses his bike at least once a week and sometimes relies on it for transportation to work.
“Some students do rely on their bike as their primary source of transportation so it’s good that they have somewhere now to go to get parts,” he said.
The bike co-op is located on the south side of the Sun Devil Fitness Complex and is open Monday through Friday from 1-5 p.m.
Contact the reporter at sajarvis@asu.edu
