As of January 3, the Sustainability Program has officially relaunched the Rollins Bike Program as Fox Bikes after it was temporarily halted in April of 2022. The relaunch includes options for students to rent bikes on a weekly, or semester basis.
According to Sustainability Program Coordinator Laura Gustafson-Hullinger, the Rollins Bike Program started in 2009 with donated bikes, which students could rent with their R-card for up to three days. In 2021, with around 50 bikes, the program was nearly as large as that of UCF. However, the program was put on pause in 2022 due to issues with the budget.
“[The program] just grew very quickly and our program budget didn’t grow as quickly,” said Gustafson-Hullinger.
In addition, the program struggled with staffing issues, as it was often operated by one coordinator.
Before the pause, the program received a quote of $8,000 per semester from a bike shop in Oviedo to service the bikes. This was not in the program’s budget, which prompted the pause. Later, the program received a gift of $1,600 from the Winter Park Health Foundation based on the $8,000 quote.
The new program is composed of both bike attendants and a Fox Bike Club, which will have a president and vice president. The club is co-advised by Gustafson-Hullinger and Dennis Short, Head Coach for Rollins Women’s Lacrosse Bike attendants are paid employees of the Sustainability Program, while the bike club will be independent, according to the director.
There will be multiple types of bikes available, including one-week cruisers that students can rent as many times as they would like. Other rental options will include one-week trek rentals which cost $5 and semester-long trek rentals which cost a one-time $50 rental fee to the Sustainability Program. Students can wave this $50 rental fee by committing to volunteer for 10 hours with Fox Bikes over the course of the semester.
Through Fox Bikes, the sustainability program hopes to increase the use of bikes as opposed to cars around campus.
“Our hope is that we can instill a passion for cycling amongst many students and that even after their time at Rollins is done, they will look towards biking often instead of taking their car when possible,” said Gustafson-Hullinger.
Despite struggles with having the program temporarily halted, the community has worked hard to create the new program.
“I would like to just appreciate the students, faculty, and staff who helped us throughout the [fall] semester and over the summer to come up with this new plan for Fox Bikes, especially Dennis Short, who’s the women’s lacrosse head coach,” said Gustafson-Hullinger. More information about the program will be posted on the Rollins website.
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