Green Apple Bikes won’t be the only bikes students see rolling around campus for much longer. Student Governing Association has begun laying the foundations to bring the for-profit bike-share company VeoRide to the Kansas State campus.
Corbin Sedlacek, local relations director for SGA and senior in accounting, said in Thursday night’s student senate meeting the company would offer $50 student-service subscriptions. Students who do not want to subscribe would alternatively be able to pay 50 cents per 15 minutes of bike usage.
Similar to Uber, there will be an app students can download to track the proximity of bikes to their location, Lacy Pitts, student body vice president and senior in agricultural economics, said. Additionally, students who do not have the app on their phones would be able to purchase a pre-loaded key card.Related:
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Each bike will be outfitted with a GPS system to track the demand of certain locations.
“The GPS trackers help with a number of things. They allow students to know where available bikes are located at through the app as well as allowing the managers of the program to keep track of lost bikes,” Pitts said.
Pitts said the idea for the additional bike option has been in the works for awhile, but the plan really came to fruition when the founder of VeoRide approached SGA. The bikes, Pitts said, could positively impact the students at K-State like they have on other campuses such as the University of Kansas.
“We wanted to find a way to expand our bike share program, and this seems like a great idea,” Pitts said. “This program would allow the campus to provide transportation for students who need it as well as helping to make Manhattan as a whole more pedestrian-friendly as well as provide a cleaner environment for everyone.”
The program will work with Green Apple Bikes as they will remain in operation to provide transportation to those who cannot afford to use the VeoRide program.
“We are thrilled about this new bike share program,” Jonathan Rivers, director of Green Apple Bikes, said. “We view this service as a win for the student population. As for the students who can’t afford this new program, Green Apple Bikes will still be available, and I think this combination of these two programs will greatly benefit the students and community members.”
Pitts said the plan is to have bikes on-campus by the end of October, beginning of November at the latest. The contract, Sedlacek said, is not finalized, but would allow SGA to customize the bikes. The bikes, which will appear in limited quantities at first, will be K-State pride purple.
