Over the past few weeks, students have constantly rushed back and forth by the north entrance of the Driscoll Student Center. However, it’s hard not to notice the absence of a large bike rack filled with B-cycle bicycles, which have been removed due to the low usage of DU’s B-cycle Program. Although B-cycle was a promising project that could have substantially helped achieve the goals of sustainability on campus, DU’s Center for Sustainability already has programs in place that are convenient and accessible to students.
B-cycle is a bike sharing system with 87 stations around Denver with 700 bikes that can be checked out from 5 a.m. to midnight. With stations around Denver, these bikes are a tremendous means for students to make quick trips to neighborhoods around DU, quickly and sustainably. However, this system is expensive for the average college student, with trips over 30 minutes costing $5.00 for every half hour or $9 for 24 hours. These high prices and the relatively low advertising on campus meant that, although some students want to save the planet, they are focused on saving a different type of green.
Therefore, DU must use existing programs to make sustainability more appealing to the student body. Already, DU’s Center for Sustainability does an outstanding job of making DU cleaner and greener. From Zero Waste Hockey Games to farmers markets, the Center for Sustainability is present in major parts of student life. With regards to sustainable transportation, the Center for Sustainability already has a bike share program, a bike repair shop and a transportation center which works to provide alternative transportation options for students. The bike share program in particular provides students with cheap and clean transportation for $25 per quarter, including a helmet, U-lock and tune-up.
Clearly DU already has the infrastructure to create a sustainable community, however the Center for Sustainability can always better promote these programs so we can better utilize existing resources. Having a more active role in promoting these programs to freshmen during orientation week could ensure that students are made aware of these programs as soon as they enter DU and quickly invest in sustainable solutions, rather than using less sustainable products, such as cars for everyday transportation. In addition, the Center for Sustainability must seek to promote programs such as the bike share program all year long, ensuring that all students are aware of and can access these programs during the fall and spring quarters.
A sustainable DU is not a fantasy, and although the loss of the B-cycle program on campus is a setback, many programs should be promoted and grown in order to reduce DU’s impact on the environment.
