SUSTAINABILITY
PROPOSAL
(GREEN BIKE PROGRAM)
SUBMITTED BY:
(XUANZI GAO)
SUBMITTED ON:
01/30/2011
I.
Identification of Sponsors
a. Project Sponsors (insert project sponsors and contact information below)
1.
Residence Hall Association
Susie Kekec – Scholars 108B
1116 East Cherry Street
Springfield, MO 65109
(573) 645-6375
Kekec22@live.missouristate.edu
b. Faculty/Staff advisor (insert faculty/staff contact information below)
1.
Angela Strider
Title: Residence Hall Association Advisor
1001 E. Harrison 104
Springfield, MO 65807
(417) 836-6591
Angelastrider@missouristate.edu
c. Project Manager (identify manager below)
1.
Koary Xuanzi Gao
E. Elm 833 Sunvilla Tower 406
Springfield, MO 65806
(417) 619-1971
Xuanzi888@live.missouristate.edu
II.
Description of Proposed Project
a. General Description of Proposal
“We are at a critical juncture in the evolution of our relationship to the environment; and
universities must take the lead in addressing issues of sustainability” …states Michael M. Crow,
President of Arizona State University, in “ASU’s Carbon Neutrality Action Plan 2009”. He
further states that even though college campuses are responsible for only a very small percentage
of Greenhouse Gas emissions in this country, it is vitally important to understand that they are in
a position of educating and influencing future businessmen, politicians, and community leaders.
In order to be able to tackle sustainability issues, I believe it is important that universities educate
students and prepare them for the challenges facing our world. In order to do that, we have to
start making changes that affect our campus and community. The proposed “Green Bike
Program” would serve as a strong example of sustainability, not only to our students but also to
our community. One of the environmental benefits of this program is a decrease in GHG
emissions caused by a large number of students using their personal vehicles for short trips in
and around campus and the Springfield area. In the future, this program will provide “off
campus” students the option to ride a bike instead of driving and give “on campus” students a
way to ride to Dillons or downtown. The Green Bike Program has the potential to stand out as
one of the many successful contributions that Missouri State University is implementing in an
effort to educate tomorrow’s leaders and initiate change.
b. Proposal Details
The proposed Green Bike Program is going to be very similar to bike programs found
around the nation on many other campuses. The practical purpose of this program would be to
provide a form of sustainable and economically responsible transportation for MSU students.
The Green Bike Program would start with a fleet of about thirty bikes acquired from the
Department of Safety and Transportation. In addition, Safety and Transportation had a bike
collection at the end of Spring 2010 semester, which collected 2 usable bikes for the program. In
the Fall 2010 semester we collected roughly 50 usable bikes.
The process for collection is as follows. Removable tags are attached to every bike on
campus. These tags inform the student that if not removed in the allotted time period, the bike
will be considered abandoned and will be collected by the university. Before these abandoned
bikes go to auction, university departments have the option to pick out bikes from these
collections. Residence Life and Services will obtain useable bikes from this surplus for the
Green Bike Program. These bikes may not be in working condition, so they will be repaired
before being added to the fleet.
These bikes will be checked out on campus by students, who would then be responsible
for these bikes for the entire checkout period. The checkout period during the pilot program will
last from the second week of school to the first week of December. At the end of the checkout
period the students are responsible to turn in the bikes. The bikes will be checked for any
damage and then kept out of the weather during the winter months. The checkout period for
spring will be from the February through the first week of May. The reason the months of
December and January are not included is due to the regular icing that occurs during these
months. Ice may damage the bikes and increase maintenance costs. Also, most students will not
be riding these bikes during extremely cold weather, so bike use is limited during this time
period. The final reason for this break is that this time period falls within the slow period of a
partnering bike shop. This means the maintenance that needs to be preformed will be fast, and
this will also keeps the bike shop busy.
The suggested cost for the bike rental will be ten dollars for a semester checkout. This
fee is to help pay for the expected $50 per year maintenance of each bike. At the end of each
spring semester, the program will be receiving approximately thirty to fifty bikes from Safety
and Transportation. After two academic years of piloting the program with the Residence Hall
population, the program will be transitioned to a campus-wide program. The maximum number
of bikes is estimated to be one hundred bikes. This number can be expanded later on in the
program to help accommodate the needs of the program and the students at Missouri State. This
number of bikes has been established so that items for these bikes can be bought in advance to
help secure the best prices. This also gives the project manager an exact number to expect in
order to plan for the transition to the entire campus.
The major factor in the success of the Green Bike Program is the piloting period. This
initial phase will give us time to evaluate some of the hurdles and challenges that are going to
arise, such as maintenance. It will also allow us to figure out how to handle these challenges so
that when the campus transition period comes up, most of the details of the program will already
be worked out. Several options for the campus-wide program are available and under research,
but it is impossible to tell at this juncture which one will be best for our campus. Again, the goal
of the piloting phase is for us to determine what is successful, and therefore determine what style
of program will be the best for Missouri State.
The transition will take place between fall 2012 and spring 2013. The details of this
transition are left vague so that the current project manager can make the best decisions possible
and has all options open. Semester reports will be given to the sustainability commission. The
reoccurring funds will continue through the duration of the pilot program. After the piloting
period the project manager will have to reapply for funds from the sustainability commission.
Maintenance will be provided by a local bike shop, probably Queen City Cycle. The
bikes will be transported in between checkout periods to the bike shop where they will go
through the maintenance process. Transportation of the bikes to the bikes shop will be provided
by Residence Life and Services. At the end of the trial period, the contract with the bike shop
and maintenance of the bikes will be reevaluated to determine the ability of expanding the
program to include student workers and bringing a bike shop to campus.
c. Proposed location for the object of the proposal
Concerning location, bikes that have been checked out will actually be located
throughout the entire campus of Missouri State. The only location that will be a constant is the
location of the bikes when they aren’t checked out. The location for these bikes during this time
will be under the Blair-Shannon overhang. Currently, the bikes are stored in the under garage of
Sunvilla Tower.
d. Alternative Uses
There is no alternative use for this program
e. Drawbacks
Drawbacks to this program include: The possibility of the theft of a bike, and the
continual maintenance fees for these bikes. The checkout numbers may not be at their peak
until late February.
f. Necessary modifications to existing structures
Depending on whether the bike shops can fixed all the bikes before the spring 2011 spring
break, the program start date may be delayed a few weeks.
III. Estimated Cost of the Project (please give the estimated cost of the project)
a. Provisions of Alternatives in Order of Preference
The fleet would be scheduled to start in spring 2011 with the thirty to fifty bikes that will
be acquired from Safety and Transportation. This option leads to a smaller start for the first full
year of rental. This also means that the proposed maximum number of bikes will not be reached
when the Green Bike Program transitions to the campus
Queen City Cycle
417-831-0800
Queencitycycles@gmail.com
Sunshine Bike Shop
417-883-1113
Kay@sunshinebike.com
Repair Cost
Repair Cost
$30 Labor
$20 Parts
$50 Labor
$50 Parts
b. Provisions of Complete Cost Breakdowns
Item
Maintenance of Bikes
Recovered From Campus
Locks
Paint
10% overage
Startup Costs
Quantity
50-65
100
Total
Amount
$1,500
$1,500
$1,500
$450
$4,950
c. Provisions of any Ongoing Costs
Item
Bike Maintenance of
Additional and Old Bikes
Miscellaneous
10% overage
Yearly Costs
Quantity
100
Recurring Amount
$3000
Total
$500
$350
$3,850
IV. Estimated Completion Time of Project
Fall 2010
Safety and Transportation collect bikes for program.
Currently 65 bikes have been collected.
January 27, 2011
Housing and University Enrichment committee checks on
the condition of bikes. Begin Pricing the bikes for
restoration in comparison to Local Bike Dealership prices.
February 3-February 11, 2011
Send all bikes into the shops for necessary repairs
February 14, 2011
Housing and University Enrichment Committee Brings
Potential Logo and Publicity for Green Bike Program to
present to RHA.
February 14, 2011
Housing and University Enrichment Committee Begin
making and distributing publicity for the Green Bike
Program
March 1-March 4, 2011
Housing and University Enrichment Committee along with
RHA will paint the bikes Green, assuming the Bikes are
back at the given time.
March 16, 2011
Bike Check Out Begins
Fall 2012
The Program Manager will begin the transition to the next
project Project Manager. A commission will be formed to
aid in this transition including; SGA, RHA SAC, Greek
Life, and Sustainable organizations.
Spring 2013
Transition of the program from Residence Hall students to
Campus Wide, if the Green Bike Program progresses well,
this may occur sooner
V. Estimated Life of Project
The Green Bike Program can last as long as the funding is available to keep the bikes
maintained or until there is an alternative form of transportation that is sustainable and cost
effective. After the successful completion of the pilot phase and during the transition of the
program to the campus would be a good time to apply for other funds and improvements to the
program. For example: drafting a proposal for Wyrick funding.
VI. Justification of Project
The Green Bike Program will help students reduce their dependence on vehicles for short trips
as well as provide transportation around campus in between classes and meetings. This project
also has the potential to help downtown business. These businesses are often forgotten due to
large corporations but are a major part of the Springfield community. By including them we can
perhaps obtain their interest and support in sustainability programs and at the same time spark
our students’ interest in the downtown area. The Green Bike Program provides the means to
make the downtown area more accessible to our students.
During the pilot period the downtown businesses should be approached by project managers
and their committee and asked to support the program. Their support will come in the form of
discounts and bonuses for students that ride their bikes to their shops. Hopefully this will give
students incentive to ride downtown instead of driving to their store of choice. In the meantime,
this program is educating our students about the initiatives of the growing Springfield biking
community.
To conclude, Campus Bike Programs are a fast growing trend across the nation. They are
providing a much-needed service to students while proving to be economically and mechanically
sustainable. Although the Green Bike Program is proposed to start small, after two short
academic years the Green Bike Program will be common place at Missouri State University; this
is an example of sustainability for the Springfield community. The goal is to provide a muchneeded service to our students while doing our part to educate tomorrow’s leaders and pioneer a
path to more accountability in protecting our environment. Last and certainly not least, the
program promotes positive attitudes toward an active and healthy lifestyle while enjoying the
close-knit community atmosphere that is part of student life at Missouri State University.
VII.
Administrative Support (if applicable)