Students and employees can use the UA Parking and Transportation Services bike valet service beginning Sept. 7.

This new service provides an alternative to buying a lock for your bicycle or taking the risk it will be stolen. It also helps students avoid the trouble of looking for space at a bike rack.

The new valet lot is located in front of the Nugent building.

“”It’s basically a fenced-in area where you can park your bike, very similar to a car valet,”” said Bill Davidson, marketing specialist for Parking and Transportation Services.  

The idea for this new program came to Parking and Transportation Services in response to the many stolen bikes on campus.

“”Valet parking has been offered at athletic events, events in other cities and iscommon in lots of other places for special one-day events,”” Davidson said. “”Since it’s been successful in the past, we thought why not take it to another level? We were thinking to take this idea one step further and have it available Monday through Friday.””

In order to use the service, students and employees must register their bike and purchase a $10 punch card at the Parking and Transportation Services office.

“”They each have 20 punches on it, and each punch costs 50 (cents),”” Davidson said.

There is no time limit for how long bicycles can remain in the lot every day, but all bikes must be picked up by 5:45 p.m. or the owner will have an extra hole punched on his or her card for being late. Parking and Transportation Services is also not responsible for theft or damage to bicycles left after hours.

Jose Bermudez, a University of Arizona Police Department officer, says that since orientation, UAPD has continuously been reminding students to lock their bicycles because of the high rate of bike theft on campus.

“”We’re trying to combat bicycle theft,”” Davidson said.

Bermudez also recommends buying U-Locks to secure bicycles.

“”Even though they may not be 100 percent unbreakable, bicycle thieves look for chain and cable locks since they are easier to bolt cut,”” Bermudez said.

Alex Lopez, a junior majoring in pre-physiology and psychology, dealt with that situation first-hand.

“”I went to campus (Student Recreation Center) last year and left my bike locked right next to it for an hour,”” Lopez said. “”I came back, and it was gone.””

The service is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and users must bring their valet punch card with them.

Another idea Bermudez suggests for students and employees who ride bikes to school is to know their bicycle’s serial number.

“”If your bike is stolen and recovered, we can match the owner to their bicycles,”” he said.