Word on the Street: What do you think of the new bike share program?
All over campus, racks of shiny blue and white "Tar Heel Bikes" have been installed as a part of Chancellor Carol Folt’s Three Zeros Environmental Initiative. Staff writer Marco Quiroz asked UNC students about their first impressions of the bikes.
Zack Mock
Sophomore biology major
“I don’t know if I’d really use them, but I think they’re a great resource to the people that can’t afford bikes and that want to get around campus more easily, rather than just walking. Especially from South Campus, because that could be a 20-minute walk if you have a class on the other side of campus.”
Gabrielle Reenstra
Sophomore English major
“I’ve been trying desperately to get a bike out here, but I haven’t been able to. So this could be pretty helpful considering that I have a bad leg so I can’t always walk all the way back to my dorm, and the bus takes such a long time at times that I would rather have a bike or something instead.”
“I think it’s a great idea. I’ve been using it since Monday when they first brought them in, because it’s just made traveling across campus a whole lot easier than having to walk everywhere.”
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First year biomedical and health science engineering major
“This was my first time riding it and to be honest it’s a little bit too big for me, but then again I’m less than 5 feet. I guess if I tried riding it more, get used to the whole seating height and everything it’d be better for me.”
Braedon Garner
Sophomore management and society major
“The only concern I really have with it is the hour limit until people start to have to pay, and I’d say it’s just because the class is going 50 minutes or an hour and a half on Tuesdays and Thursdays generally. It can be problematic if people aren’t trying to spend any money.”
Kyle Ryan
First year undecided major
“I don’t want to ride my bike to class in the morning, but I can ride it back from class in the afternoon because it’s a downhill drive to South Campus so it’s kind of nice. Funny story though, my roommate checked one of these out and he thought he checked it back in but he didn’t and it charged him for the service all night long, it was like $100 or something.”
