Finding funds is the next step in getting ASUNM’s bike-share program rolling according to ASUNM president Jaymie Roybal.
“We have had some informal conversations with sponsors who are interested in the program, but we are waiting until we know the exact price and other specifics before we start getting actual pledges,” she said.
Roybal said ASUNM intends to fund the program through private sponsorship. ASUNM members, including Roybal, proposed the program, which would allow students to rent bikes for use throughout campus and nearby Nob Hill.
The bike-share program is being developed in part by Parking and Transportation Services. According to PATS, a first year cost of $353,000 would pay for nine stations and a total of 46 bicycles. From there, the program would require recurring funding of $60,000 a year to continue operation.
In a presentation before the Student Fee Review Board, Danielle Gilliam, program specialist, said PATS is requesting a one-time donation of $50,000 in student fees as down payment to jump-start the program. Gilliam said if this amount is granted, students will not have to pay out of pocket for the following year. Rather than being supported by student fees on a yearly basis, If fundraising and other efforts fail to raise the amount needed, PATS has suggested that students could pay for the rental of the bikes on campus. A $6 per day pass with 10,000 users a year would be sufficient to completely fund the program, according to the PATS SFRB presentation.
“If we can get the $50,000 … one time, I would like to not have to come back and request more student fees to fund the program. I think we can keep (the program sustainable) with donations, fundraising … and advertising.”
Roybal said she hopes to fundraise most of the $60,000 cost through donations and advertising to keep costs to students low.
Gilliam said the expansion of housing and the possible influx of 2,000 students requires alternative methods of transportation.
Gilliam said the bike-share program will lessen dependence on automobiles, reduce traffic and congestion on campus and provide speedy access to parts of campus and other amenities in the campus area currently off-limits to motor vehicles.
ASUNM Sen. Sunny Liu said the UNM bike-share program could be the first step in a citywide bike-share program.
In the Parking and Transportation Services SFRB presentation, Gilliam said if UNM takes the first step in providing bike-share kiosks in the UNM area, the city may follow with additional funding for kiosk expansion.
“This program could initiate the city to want to revamp the city’s transportation structure and open the limitations for better biking routes and policies,” Liu said.
More than 90 colleges currently offer some sort of bike-sharing program on their campus.
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GPSA President and SFRB Chair Katie Richardson said she isn’t sure if the program should be funded by student fees.
“While I am excited about sustainability efforts at UNM, I am not sure if students will use the program enough to justify its expense,” Richardson said. “Student support could give a reason to use fee dollars as seed money for the program even before the rest of the capital is raised by businesses, but I haven’t heard a ground swell from students yet. I’d like to see a study showing student need and support.”
Luke Holmen contributed to this report
