http://www.ripon.edu/velorution/index.html
Ripon College [Wisconsin] is proud to join the velorution by providing a new bicycle to each first-year student who signs a pledge that he/she will not bring a vehicle to campus through the duration of the 2008-09 school year. In doing so, Ripon hopes to break these students of their dependency on cars for transportation and thereby reduce the College’s ecological footprint.
That is awesome.
I wish that my college did that, I could go for a free bike and I don’t have a car.
I wonder what kind of bike it is and how durable it is.
I also wonder what kind of safety gear they provide if any.
I wonder if they have pumps near proper lock up posts for ease of maintenance and parking.
I wonder if they provide a space for maintenance (Changing a flat in 0° is not much fun)
I wonder if they will provide changing rooms/showers for changing after the commute. (It is nice to be able to change out of your cold weather gear.)
I also wonder what kind of work they have done in their local community to provide proper bike paths and work to improve existing roads for pedal power (decent shoulders and lighting).
I wonder what kind of mass transit backup they have in the way of buses and if the buss passes are affordable.
I wonder if the buses will have racks for bikes.
Looking at the size of Ripon WI, I doubt that they have any mass transit.
Someone mentioned that the bike is a mid level Trek ($450 USD retail or so). I don’t know about the additional equipment.
A big part of getting something going is getting to a critical mass. With a hundred or more bike folks on campus, it will be easy to find someone to help do basic repairs, and to find extra parts such as tubes. Hopefully the admins have thought it through, and looked at costs for support and other likely side effects.
Theft will likely be a big problem. Winter weather and rain all year round can be big problems in Wisconsin. In some areas, such a program would likely attract a lot of scammers. However, with a Wisconsin university, that is likely not be as big a problem as doing it in an poor urban area.
Once a student gets a car, a large majority are likely to own a car for most of their lives. By having this bike program, it might become the “in thing” to do. Peer pressure and social stigma are huge factors with young people. Having a carrot in the form of a free bike can certainly help.
A town near me, tried to have a “free” bike program with the bikes to be public property and for anyone to use without charge. The 150 bikes were painted bright yellow, and almost all of them were stolen within two weeks. Other cities have had more success with this kind of program.
Paris has a successful free bike program. London is trying to do their own massive free bike program. With a massive campaign of construction, and also free bikes.
http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6610,s1-3-12-16845-1,00.html
I have not had to get of my bike and walk it once this year due to snow. The sidewalks, streets, and bike paths are cleared at an amazing rate. That is part of what I was wondering about. If the infrastructure is not there, the biking will not be a positive experience.
Answered one of my questions.
http://www.cyclelicio.us/2008/02/ripon-college-bike-giveaway.html
Those who participate will be given a brand-new Trek 820 mountain bike, a Trek Vapor helmet and a MasterLock U-Lock to keep
A bit of background.
When an opportunity came to purchase a quantity of Trek mountain bikes from a nearby bike shop, Joyce had his solution: Trade four wheels for two. Friends, trustees and alumni donated about $60,000 to buy 200 bicycles to give away to an incoming freshman class of an expected 300 students.
And it does sound like they are working to cause some changes in the road systems.
Enrollment at Ripon College is growing, but Mr. Joyce has vowed not to add any new campus parking lots, which he considers ugly and a waste of green space. (In fact, the college recently acquired rights to a city road that passes through the middle of campus; that road will be removed, which means there will be one less thing to drive on.)
It sounds like this is not just a quick fix, but that there are solid plans in place.
I know what happens when you give students free bikes. It all starts off inocently enough, then it becomes this…
and this…
Soon everyone is skipping class to drink malt liqour and carouse around on bikes - stop the madness, please. 
John
Could you please send your street department to Spokane and teach them how to deal with the snow?
We had a storm on Jan 26-27 that dumped upwards of a foot on us. Our street was plowed ONCE - six days after the storm. The main highway through town was not plowed until late Sunday - the snow was piling up by Saturday afternoon and it was obvious that it was gong to continue.
Even now there are piles of snow along the edges of the streets. It was hard enough driving through that mess, I don’t know how anyone could have ridden a bike in it.
I think Spokane tried a free bike program downtown several years ago and they were all stolen.
Don’t most university campuses already have a lot of bicyclists (I’m talking the kind with dorms, not the commuter college type)?
Most people bring a car so they can go home on weekends. It’s not so much that they want to reduce traffic as they want to reduce the need for parking.
I know our local university has a campus bike shop where you can go and use the tools, plus classes in bike maintenance and volunteer bike mechanics to help you get your bike fixed.
Recently a local city version of this has started up in town called Bici-centro. Free volunteer bike maintenance, donations appreciated. I hear it’s a big success.