After years of planning SGA announcing new B-Cycle station
After several years of planning, Trinity University is implementing a B-Cycle station. The acquisition of the station has been an initiative of SGA since 2014.
B-Cycle is a city-wide program that provides bike rental kiosks at various locations around San Antonio. Users can rent bikes and return them at any B-Cycle location. SGA members hope that the program will encourage students to get out and experience the city.
“Part of the goal is to give people the opportunity to get outside of the Trinity bubble and go out and explore the city of San Antonio. I think it hopefully will. It gives people more of an option other than getting in a car because that’s not an option for everybody, not everyone has access to a vehicle. So this will give them an alternative. People can take a day trip with their friends on their bikes, which can be more fun than going in a car anyways,” said Nick Santulli, SGA president.
Santulli explained how B-Cycle has been a continuous initiative passed down the line of SGA presidents.
“President Evan Lewis wanted to bring another transportation option to Trinity’s campus, and that was right around the same time that the B-Cycle program was really something up and coming and was really starting to become something cool,” Santulli said. “Due to licensing issues with the B-Cycle company, that’s why it’s taken so long to get it started.”
Evan Lewis, former SGA president and the person responsible for initiating the program, expressed excitement that the project was finally being completed.
“I am really excited to hear that B-Cycle is finally coming to campus. Having a B-Cycle station on campus will promote sustainability and encourage students to break out of the Trinity bubble and explore San Antonio,” Lewis said.
The B-Cycle program also stands to benefit Trinity students by providing an environmentally friendly mode of transportation.
“The program will provide Trinity students with another option for transportation that will be kind of unique just because bikes have the potential to be more fun if you’re planning some kind of outing, not to mention they’re way more eco-friendly. I think the value of B-Cycle will continue to grow as the city of San Antonio becomes more bike friendly and the city continues to develop in areas outside of just downtown and the riverwalk. B-Cycle is expanding it’s network, so people will be able to bike to areas like St. Mary’s for instance, soon enough,” Santulli said.
Santulli went on to list some of the popular San Antonio spots students can explore through the network of B-Cycle locations.
“You can drop off these bikes anywhere in the B-Cycle network, and you have to check them in at a station every hour. So a lot of them are downtown, and they’re working on expanding a lot, so you can think of areas like the Pearl and Brackenridge Park, for instance,” Santulli said.
Joseph Khalaf, SGA vice president, explained that the B-Cycle station is being subsidized by a federal grant.
“The actual retail value of the station is close to $70,000, but a federal grant is going to be paying for the majority of it, so SGA is allocating a portion of the Student Activity Fee to pay for the rest of the cost of the station, which is about $15,000,” Khalaf said.
SGA will be distributing free bike passes throughout the semester, Santulli explained.
“The typical rate is about $12 a day, and we haven’t decided if we’re going to try and get a subsidized student rate, and that may be in the works, but we’re also going to be giving out 500 free bike passes over the course of the semester. We think students will be particularly excited about that, and that may drive business for the B-Cycles, at least at first. So SGA will be giving those out, and we may try and use them to incentivize certain events in the future as well,” Santulli said.
