A brand-new pair of do-it-yourself bicycle repair stations have been installed on campus, maintaining the UA’s reputation as a bike-friendly campus.
The lime green stations, manufactured by Dero Bike Racks, have been installed in two locations on campus — in front of the Henry Koffler building and on the west side of the Arizona Health Sciences Center. Users are able to hang their bikes from the seat-post and make minor adjustments using the 17 tools that are tethered to the unit, including a manual air pump.
According to Bill Davidson, marketing manager for Parking and Transportation Services, the stations were an obvious step in the right direction in terms of making bicycling on campus easier, especially after the success of the bike station on the UA Mall, which is run by volunteers from a bike association in Pima County.
“We wanted to really take that bike station idea to the next level and pilot two repair stations where people can do their own bike-fixing and get air,” Davidson said.
Davidson also added that one of the best parts about the new stations is that everything is free, including the air, which can cost money at other locations like convenience stores.
Funding for the stations came directly from within the PTS budget — the department generates its own revenue through parking passes and tickets, and receives no funding from the university.
Students who bike regularly on campus said they are also finding the stations to be a practical addition considering the UA’s high amount of bicycle traffic.
“Sometimes when you’re biking, random stuff can happen to your bike,” said T.J. Venne, a journalism senior. “Being able to stop and tighten your seat or pump up your tires, especially this time of year when it’s cold out and can be rainy, is really helpful.”
Even students who don’t know how to make repairs to their bicycles have said that having access to the tools makes riding on campus more comfortable.
“I don’t know how to do all the work on my bike,” said Jeannie Wood, a creative writing sophomore. “But I don’t have tools for my bike, so that would be kind of nice to know I could go somewhere and fix the chain or something.”
And while some student bicyclists say they won’t use the stations all that often, they did like the idea of PTS using money from parking passes and tickets to help fund a service for bicyclists.
“They’re gathering revenue from parking, and, from what I’ve heard, they charge a lot for parking,” said Kate Flower, a graduate student studying information resources and library science. “Anything they can do to turn that around and try to get more people to bike, I think, is a really good thing.”
Because of the positive feedback that PTS has already gathered, the installation of more stations throughout campus is a definite possibility.
