Executive Summary (Business Memo)
To: Al Stratmen, Executive Director of Facilities and Services at UIUC
From: Aaron Babajoni, Stephen Roth, Jack Burns, and Kristopher Scharringhausen-Long
Date: November 12th, 2014
Subject: Bike Sharing Program Business Proposal
INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH
Hello, Mr. Stratman we stand before you today to introduce to you a plan to
implement a bike sharing program here at the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign. While we are absolutely aware that there will be high costs and time that will
need to go into implementing the program, we do believe this program will benefit the
University both in the short term as well as in the long term. We believe there is a serious
issue at hand here on campus and this bike sharing program will help to address the issue
and make campus a better place overall. We would like to highlight just a few benefits of
this program for you. We believe this program will lead to: increased profit margins for
the University, a reduction in bicycle theft and robbery, as well as a more
environmentally safe form of transportation and an overall greener campus. For more
information regarding the implementation of this program, we will be having a detailed
presentation on Wednesday, November 12th in Lincoln Hall and we would greatly
appreciate your attendance. At the presentation, we will cover the success of this program
at other institutions as well as future benefits for the university. At the end of our
presentation, we hope that you will agree that bike sharing is something that will in fact
benefit the University.
The Problem/ Situation/ Need
The overall problem and situation that needs to be addressed here is that there is a
lack of green transportation modes that are more effective than the bus system on
campus. This program will be beneficial for your purposes because it will not only lead to
addressing the need for a greener campus, but also bringing in larger profit margins for
the University. The implementation of this program will serve as a sustainable effort that
contributes to a more attractive campus community for both current and prospective
students. The current modes of transportation on campus need to be updated and aligned
with the needs of the students on campus, especially considering the large number of
students who use bikes as a mode of transportation.
Proposed Solution
Our proposed solution to you is to put a bike sharing program into effect in order
to reprioritize and change the current forms of transportation here on campus. A Bike
sharing program would benefit the university for multiple reasons. One benefit of a bike
sharing program would a reduction in bike thefts on campus. There have been 161
reported cases of bike theft on campus from August 2012 to August 2014 (Stillwell).
Another benefit of this program is the creation of a greener campus. Prospective students
and visitors would associate our campus as being economically friendly and green and
would put the University's name and image in a more positive light. A third benefit is that
this bike sharing system will be profitable for the University in the long term. By adding
an extra $10 to every student’s tuition costs to help maintain this program, the University
would be bringing in a profit within the first few years. Other benefits of this program
include a healthier student body, more exploration of campus, and higher bike safety
awareness on the bike lanes.
Cost/Resource Analysis
A large, campus-wide project like this is will come at a cost to the university, but
not as big of a cost as one may think. This bike sharing program will need funds in order
to purchase the bikes, build bike stations on campus, make any repairs for the bikes and
stations, maintenance for the bike lanes on campus, advertising and marketing for this
program, and more. The University of Illinois will be able to easily fund this program
through many platforms. The University can receive this funding from student tuitions,
alumni donations, local sponsorships, and more.
We want our student and facility to have access to the latest and greatest forms of
technology. That being said, we desire to have the most advanced bikes for this campus
bike sharing program. The bikes we would use would have many features that promote
fitness, travel, and safety on campus. For example, every bike would come with a built in
GPS tracking system, an estimated calorie counter, and lights on both the front and rear
of the bike.
The bike docking stations would also use the most advanced technologies. To
save operating and electrical costs, the bike sharing stations would be powered by solar
panels placed on top of the stations. By swiping with their iCards, students will receive a
randomized four-digit code to unlock an available bike to use. This allows the system to
track which student takes out which bike as well as to track the duration of their bike trip
as well as how long they used the bike. This data will be used to analyze the efficiency of
the bike sharing program and allow the University to decide whether or not to add more
bikes and bike stations on campus. The bike stations will also send alerts to Facilities and
Services about breakdowns and needed repairs.
Aside from the bikes and the stations, there would also be a cost to creating,
developing, and maintaining an app for users. This app would allow students to see where
bike stations are located on campus and how many bikes are available at each station.
Users could also create a profile by entering their UIN or Student ID Number. This
profile will keep track of users’ bike trip information (duration, GPS, calories used, etc.)
as well as showing how users rank against other users in number of trips, most time spent
on bikes, most calories used, and longest distances. This app could cost the University
very little if a Computer Science class develops the app throughout a semester. Having a
student-created app will allow the University to save money by not hiring an outside
party to create it and it will also perform as a free form of advertising throughout the
student community.
This project will be ran through the Transportation Demand Management branch
of Facilities and Services at the University. Therefore, no outside workers will be needed
in order to create and operation this program. This will save the University an estimated
$100,000 during the construction process for this program.
The building and maintenance for our bike sharing program is estimated to cost
the university $450,000. We estimate the the University will spend a significantly lower
amount due to potential donations from alumni, student fundraisers, and corporate
sponsorships. Boston implemented their bike sharing program, called Hubway, for a total
of $4.5 million (Mayor’s Office). Hubway has a total of 140 bike stations and over 1,300
bikes throughout the system (Hubway). We estimate that the total cost for the University
will be about $450,000 because our bike sharing program is aimed to eventually be 10%
the size of the city of Boston’s Hubway bike system. The University would have many
resources available to help fund this project.
Alumni would be more than willing to help the University fund this program.
With the incentive to name bike stations after the highest 14 donators, we firmly believe
that alumni would help cover a great amount of the cost for the University.
This program will also be funded through sponsorships. Local companies, such as
Jimmy Johns and Carle, would not hesitate to donate to this program because it would be
a way for them to give back to the community as well as to advertise their companies.
Carle would be a prime sponsor because they could use these bike to promote health
throughout the student community.
We estimate the that the University of Illinois would have to pay no more than
$450,000 in order to create this state-of-the-art bike sharing program. In fact, with alumni
donations and outside sponsorships, the total cost could be much lower for the
University. The University could add funding by adding on an extra $10 to every
student’s tuition. This charge would make every valid iCard a membership/access pass
for this program. This additional fee would allow the university to cover any extra costs
easily and add on a profit year after year.
Implementation Plan
In order to successfully implement this program and make it a reality, it is crucial
to develop a timetable as well as have specific tasks for each member of the team. There
will be an ample amount of logistical work that goes into starting this program. We hope
to have the program in place by the Fall semester of 2016.
Starting January 2015, the Transportation Demand Management branch of
Facilities and Services will begin planning out which areas to build the bike stations on
campus. They will also begin planning out how to improve and prepare the current bike
lanes to make them ready for heavier traffic. With this, they will also be posting more
bike safety signs around campus to increase awareness.
By Summer of 2015, TDM will begin to do construction on the bike lanes and
clearing out areas where stations will be installed. They will do this over the summer
because there will be less student traffic and their productivity levels will increase. Over
the summer, Stephan and Kris will help TDM and F&S map out areas on campus with
the most bike theft and discuss how these areas are key for new bike stations. Jack and
Aaron will help create ways to increase bike safety awareness as well as communicate
with potential local sponsors.
All bikes and bike stations will be installed in the beginning of Summer 2016.
This summer will be used as a testing period and any needed changes will take place
before the “grand opening” in August 2016.
Conclusion/Call to Action
In conclusion, we believe that there is a need for an alternative form of
transportation needed on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
A bike sharing program brings in many benefits to the University, including lower theft, a
greener campus, and higher profit margins for the University. With alumni donations and
sponsorships, the costs will be greatly reduced and the University will begin to make a
profit within the first three years. With all of this in mind, we ask to schedule a meeting
with Facilities and Services to begin planning out this bike share program.
We thank you for your time and look forward to meeting and working with you in the
future.
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References
Hubway (2014). Home. Hubway.com. Retrieved from http://www.thehubway.com/.
Mayor’s Office (2011, April 21). Mayor Menino signs first-ever bike share contract
launching Hubway in Boston. CityofBoston.gov. Retrieved from
http://www.cityofboston.gov/news/default.aspx?id=5075.
Stillwell, K. (2014, Sept. 5). Bike theft at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Neutral Cycle. Retrieved from http://www.neutralcycle.com/bike-theft-universityillinois-urbana-champaign/.