Seniors team up to create Bronco Bikes

By Genna Tan

Four seniors have teamed up to design a bike-share program at Santa Clara.

"I had heard about Emory University in Atlanta that had started a bike-share program with a bike store," said Elizabeth DiCarlo, one of the program's creators. "So I thought that, since Santa Clara is always trying to go green, a bike-share program could really help us achieve those goals."

Kevin Carter and Maidere Sorhondo joined her to start Bronco Bikes, a student-run bike sharing program, which will allow faculty, staff and students to rent bikes from a hub located on campus.

According to Carter, people will be able to login and logout at an information desk, where they will receive a key for their bike locks.

The data for each bike and user will be tracked using a central database.

The team recruited fellow senior Paul Arnaudo to design the central database.

"They needed someone to do the technology stuff, so they asked me," said Arnaudo. "I already knew the three of them, so I was more than happy to help out with such an awesome project."

The Bronco Bikes team aims to begin the program in spring with a fleet of about 30 bikes.

"It's kind of ambitious to shoot for spring, but we're working on implementing a simple structure that doesn't require too much money or resources from existing services on campus," said Carter. "A program like this needs to get approval from all the different people on campus, but we'd really like to see it as soon as possible."

Arnaudo, who is an operations and management systems major, is also working on a Bronco Bikes Web site that would allow students to check their account balances and find information about cool places they can bike to.

"We want a Web-based solution for Bronco Bikes, where students can log on and manage their accounts," said Arnaudo.

Arnaudo said he is optimistic about the project.

"There's so much space to grow, and this really has a chance to be successful," said Arnaudo.

The team has looked at bike-share programs at Saint Xavier University and Duke University, said Carter.

"We knew that bike-share programs like this existed on both city-like campuses and campuses like Santa Clara," said Carter. "Our campus is really ideal for bikes because it's really flat, and students don't have many other ways to travel on or off campus."

The daily rental charge for a bike will be around $5, said Sorhondo. The fees will be used to cover maintenance costs and to get the program started.

"This is definitely something more for the students than for profit," said Sorhondo. "We have plans for the future to become more technologically efficient and to be able to get more funds. And we hope that it will eventually be a free service."

Bronco Bikes has received support from several campus organizations.

Lindsey Cromwell, sustainability coordinator for the Environmental Studies Institute, said the Office of Sustainability supports Bronco Bikes.

"Elizabeth met with me this summer to share her idea. Her timing seems quite appropriate, as more and more students, faculty and staff are riding bikes," said Cromwell in an e-mail.

Kevin Holmes, director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, said a bike-share program is a good idea for Santa Clara.

"The main thing that I think is cool about this is that it's a really simple idea and it's simple to execute," said Holmes. "It makes the campus better, so in a way, it's social entrepreneurship."

The Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship does not offer funding, but can make connections to potential investors and provide consultation, said Holmes.

The team hopes to gain the support of Arrupe Programs, said DiCarlo. Arrupe Programs sets students up with community placements and offers volunteers the option of borrowing cars to get to their placements.

"We want to offer our bikes as a way for students to get to their Arrupe placements, instead of vans and cars which require gas and are expensive to maintain," said DiCarlo. "Since many Arrupe placements are close to school, it would be a good option."

Laurie Laird, associate director for the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education, said Arrupe Programs recently acquired two bicycles for students to use.

"We have some placements that are relatively close to campus, but a little far to walk to, so it makes sense for students to use bikes," said Laird.

However, the cost of renting a bike from Bronco Bikes may be a problem, said Laird.

"Our students who go to their placements would generally need a bike for about three hours, but if they have to pay a fee for renting a bike when they can use one of our cars for free. We have to think about how to make bikes an attractive option," said Laird.

But they have Laird's support.

"I do hope that the Bronco Bikes program does get off the ground," said Laird. "It would be a great option for students, regardless of whether they are going to their Arrupe placements or not."

The team is also playing with the idea of having the student-run information desk open during normal business hours, said Sorhondo.

"With a student-run information desk open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., people can have all-day rentals, and if they keep the bike overnight, certain overnight charges might be applied," said Sorhondo.

Senior Clara Sullivan, who rides a bike to and from campus daily, said she would rather buy her own bike.

"I'd probably ask friends if I could use their bikes because I don't want to spend money on renting a bike, especially if I'm just going to use it for an hour," said Sullivan.

Sullivan, who recently lent her bike to a freshman, said Bronco Bikes could be a hit with freshmen.

"A bike is a pretty big expense, so renting one could help a lot of students out if they don't want to spend a lot," said Sullivan. "If you calculate the cost of taking a bus, it actually adds up, so riding a bike is an inexpensive alternative. Plus, waiting for the bus is always a huge headache."

But overall, she said owning a bike would be preferable.

"In general, I'd rather buy a personal bike than rent it because it's always better to have your own," said Sullivan.

Student safety is one obstacle that the team faces.

"We're working with Campus Safety to ensure the safety of the students who ride bikes off campus," said DiCarlo. "It's hard to address this because Santa Clara's umbrella only extends so far."

Funding is another of the main obstacles that Bronco Bikes has to overcome, said DiCarlo. Since Bronco Bikes has applied to be a club on campus, they will get some funding from the school to start off.

"We're looking to internal offices on campus such as the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Office of Sustainability," said DiCarlo. "A lot of our fundraising will take place in winter when we have everything set in place and are ready to go."

According to Carter, he and his team have devised a three-year and a five-year plan to expand the program on campus, as well as aiming to include off-campus Flex merchants.

Bronco Bikes is looking at local bicycle store The Off Ramp as an option for purchasing their initial fleet of bikes.

"Right now we're looking at a local bike shop because we feel it would be great for them since they would get free publicity," said DiCarlo.

"We're really excited about the project, especially since we're seniors," said Sorhondo. "This is a great way for us to give back to Santa Clara, and we're definitely looking for younger students to get on board with the project to ensure that it will be maintained."

Contact Genna Tan at (408) 554-4546 or gbtan@scu.edu.