UW grad students win $25,000 environmental prize for plan tostart innovative sharing program that could be a North American first Photo: Natasha Fillion, Record StaffWaterloo could be the first place in North America with abicycle-sharing program, which could cut thousands of car trips everyyear. Three graduate students from the University of Waterlooschool of planning have won a $25,000 prize for their proposal. Itcomes from TD Bank`s Friends of the Environment Foundation.And they plan to take it to Waterloo regional council in the fall toask that it be given a chance here. The students are hoping WaterlooRegion will help start the program in Waterloo`s university area. Ifsuccessful, it would spread to other parts of Waterloo, and Kitcheneras far south as Fairview Park mall.More than 60 European cities, including Paris and Barcelona, havepopular bike-sharing programs. If the plan goes ahead here, the regionwould be the first major community in North America to try the idea."We`re excited about making public transit more personalized," said BenFinkleman, one of the winning students. The other two are Ben Clare andMatthew Lee.One of the reasons people like to drive is that they can come and goaccording to their own schedules. They don`t have to wait for a bus.But having the bikes available would be almost as convenient asdriving. "This system`s going to make public transit much moreattractive," said Clare.HERE`S HOW THEIR PLAN WOULD WORK:At first, about 100 bikes would be available in 14 designated bikestations at such places as central Waterloo, both Waterloouniversities, Conestoga Mall and residential areas nearby.The bikes would be locked up, just as luggage carts slide in and out of a locked rack at Pearson Airport in Toronto.People wanting to use a bike would swipe their credit cards and enter a code to unlock a bike. They`d return it to any station.Cost would be billed to the card. Bikes would be free for the firsthour, $2.50 an hour for the second and third hour, and $5 every hourafter that. If a bike wasn`t returned, the user would be billed for thereplacement cost.Users could check online to make sure there was a good supply of bikes at the place they wanted.Bikes would be painted a combination of forest and lime green for adistinctive look. They`d come with locks for short stops betweenstations.Although people of all ages use the program in Europe, the UWstudents believe it would initially be most popular here with peopleaged 15 to 24. They designed it to begin in neighbourhoods with highnumbers in that age group.The program doesn`t cost the public anything in Paris and Barcelona.In both those cases, an advertising agency pays the bill. In return,the city does its communications through that agency.This is the first year for the environmental contest, called the GoGreen Challenge. It encourages college and university students acrossCanada to come up with ideas for helping the environment. There are four $25,000 prizes. "We wanted to get creative thinkingon the environment, and we wanted to foster teamwork among students,"said Matthew Cram, spokesperson for the TD foundation. The prize moneywill be split: half for the students, who get slightly more than $4,000each, and half for the university`s faculty of environmental studies.Jeff Casello, the UW engineering and planning professor who mentoredthe students, said the faculty will likely use the money to help aresearch team that finds ways to be less dependent on automobile travel.
alumni.uwaterloo.ca/alumni/e-newsletter/2008/may/bikes.html