At the start of the fall semester, the University of New Mexico’s Parking and Transportation Services implemented a free bike valet program, encouraging students and staff to make a greener commute to campus, while deterring the frequent amount of bike theft that occurs on campus.
There are 128 slots available for UNM staff and students to keep their bike or other mode of transportation safely secured and monitored at the bike valet.
The bike valet is located across from the Student Health and Counseling Center, in between the Student Union Building and the northeast corner of Popejoy Hall.
Spots fill up on a first-come first-served basis, and students hold precedence over availability. However, PATS valets Taylor Ploetz and Anthony Slot said that they have not yet had an issue with reaching capacity, and do not expect to, with the frequency of pickups and drop-offs they receive.
“Normally we haven’t really had an issue with over-capacity. It gets pretty filled, but it doesn’t get crazy,” Ploetz said. “Usually it switches out so we end up having empty spaces no matter what.”
Only bikes, skateboards, e-scooters and some other multi-modal vehicles are accepted by the valet, so leaving any personal belongings behind with your mode of transportation is prohibited, according to PATS.
Registration is free and can be completed in-person with a valet. Anyone registered may utilize the valet system anytime during operating hours — 7:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. on weekdays — and must be picked up by the latter time. The last drop offs taken are at 4:30 p.m., according to PATS.
For safety, any vehicle that is not picked up at the end of the day will be held overnight in a locker and may be retrieved during the valet’s operating hours.
To use UNM’s bike valet, patrons will trade in their vehicle in exchange for a “claim tag,” and use this tag to later retrieve their belongings. If the tag is lost before returning to the valet, operators can trace owners back to their property, according to PATS.
“If they do lose their ticket on the off chance — it does happen occasionally — as long as they have their ID or know what their ID number is, it’s not an issue,” Ploetz said.
The bike valet is working on a new system that will eliminate waste from the throw-away paper tags they currently use, Slot said.
Slot encourages users of the bike valet to share suggestions and feedback through an online survey.
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The bike valet is funded through student fees from the Student Fee Review Board, and is managed by PATS, according to PATS.
The bike valet in itself coincides with the environmental sustainability goals listed under UNM’s 2040 plan, which aims to promote low-emission, active transportation and safe mobility.
Ploetz and Slot were surprised at the amount of people who have used the program since it started.
“A lot of people will come up to us and thank us for having this, because a lot of times, their bikes or scooters would get stolen,” Ploetz said.
Lexis Lovato is a beat reporter with the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on X @lovatolexis
