News 2018: UMass Dartmouth announces the launch of Bike Share program

University and Chicago's VeoRide announce partnership to provide campus with sustainable, affordable transportation

After several years of study, the University has finalized a partnership with VeoRide to bring a dockless bike share system to campus. Students, faculty, staff, and visitors will be able to download a phone app and easily rent a bike. Riders can rent bikes for as little as 50 cents for 15 minutes, or purchase a day pass or discounted monthly or annual memberships that offer unlimited one-hour rides.

To find a bike, riders open the VeoRide app, consult the map which will shows bike locations in real-time, and then use their phone to unlock a bike. Once their ride is over, riders simply place it near a bike rack and lock the back wheel.

VeoRide staff checks every bike every two weeks to ensure bikes are functioning properly. Using data, VeoRide moves bikes to frequently used locations for better avaialbility. If a bike has been parked in a problematic spot, once notified, their staff will move it within 2 hours. “Our goal is to have all bikes in good riding condition, ridden frequently and parked respectfully,” said Anne Coulter, VeoRide’s Operations Manager for the Boston region.

The program was brought together through the work of the Office of Campus Sustainability, Campus Transportation, Strategic Planning, Capital Planning as well as several students who have championed this idea for years. “As students, we have a lot to do and anything that lets us move quickly from one place to another is critical,” said Katie Lovett, a member of the Student Government Association. “Bikes are the perfect, low impact way to move around our campus.”

At the end of the 2018 spring semester, the campus conducted a pilot program to test 5 different bike share companies with 50 bikes. The response was overwhelmingly popular and over 300 riders provided written feedback, which culminated in choosing VeoRide.

“VeoRide is an emerging company based out of Chicago that has built a great bike, an even better app, and is consistently enthusiastic about helping people get back on a bike,” remarked Jamie Jacquart, Assistant Director for Campus Sustainability. “To see our students riding around and enjoying their day makes this all worth it.”