LimeBike launches at ECU
One hundred LimeBikes will be deployed on ECU’s campus on Monday, March 12. Anyone can unlock and use the bikes using the LimeBike app. (Contributed photos)
Beginning Monday, March 12, 100 LimeBikes will be deployed on East Carolina University’s main campus, offering students, faculty and staff, and visitors a simple way to find and use a bicycle.
LimeBike is a bike sharing company based in California and currently operates in more than two dozen cities and several university campuses including N.C. State and UNC Greensboro. Each bike is equipped with GPS, wireless technology and self-activating locks, freeing them from the confines of designated docking areas.
“The dock-free network makes it easier for ECU students and faculty to explore the campus on two wheels,” said LimeBike public relations coordinator Emma Green.
There is no cost to ECU for the service; users access the bikes and pay using LimeBike’s iOS or Android smartphone application. The cost for students and others with an ECU email address is 50 cents per half-hour.
Dan Hemme, LimeBike’s operations manager for Greenville, said he anticipates deploying additional bikes as needed and expanding to include the health sciences campus. The City of Greenville is also working on an agreement to deploy the bikes citywide.
For students, faculty and staff with an ECU email address, the cost is 50 cents per half hour.
Users are encouraged to wear helmets, obey traffic rules and safe bicycle operation, and to park the bikes in or near existing bike racks, not on sidewalks or lawn areas. ECU currently has bike rack capacity for 1,780 bicycles in 72 designated bike rack areas, according to Joshua Rossnagel, external operation supervisor for ECU Parking and Transportation.
“One of the projects we are working on is having daily occupancy reports of the bike racks so that we can get accurate data on where additional racks may be needed,” he said. “LimeBike also has strong data metrics that will allow us to find trends in the ridership on campus.”
LimeBike representatives will be manning tables on campus during the launch to answer questions and distribute LimeBike information and swag, including helmets. To celebrate the launch, riders can use the promotional code “LIMEATECU” to receive $1 off their first two rides.
“Bringing LimeBike to ECU will help reduce bicycle congestion on campus while providing alternative transportation methods that will reduce our carbon footprint,” Rossnagel said. “LimeBike will allow faculty, staff, students and guests the opportunity to travel throughout campus without moving their vehicle from their original parking destination.”
For more information visit limebike.com.
-by Jules Norwood, ECU News Services