Students at the University of Tampa can now rent bikes to grocery shop, exercise or even just to take a joy ride to their class, through the new program BikeUT.
Headed by the Department of Campus Recreation in association with City Bike Tampa.
BikeUT allows students, faculty and staff to rent bikes for free with a valid Spartan ID.
“I think it provides a small sense a freedom to students who don’t have a car or bicycle on campus and have to rely on friends or taxis to get around,” said Kathryn White, assistant director of Campus Recreation. “Plus, the weather has been beautiful, making riding so enjoyable.”
Rental bikes are equipped with a helmet and bike lock and an optional basket. Students are encouraged to take precaution and keep their bikes locked when not in use. Student riders
can receive a ten percent discount from City Bike Tampa on their purchase of a helmet and lock if they wish to purchase their own.
“We have had several students already take advantage of the program, some are even repeat renters,” said White. “They really like the ability to check out a bike for a few hours to go to the store or just ride around town.”
In regards to helmet use, White comments, “BikeUT encourages and offers the use of a helmet and I would really like to see students making the smart decision to wear one. There are just too many hurried drivers on the road who don’t pay attention to cyclists.”
There is a free urban safety class at the St. Pete Times Forum on November 13 that would be beneficial to students. Campus Recreation hopes to host some of these classes on campus soon.
The main thing to remember is that a bicycle is considered a vehicle and one must follow the same rules as one does with a car: stop at lights and stop signs, signal to turn, ride with traffic, yield to pedestrians and so on.
Bikes may be rented from the McNiff Fitness Center front desk on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m.; Tuesdays and Thursdays between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. and from 4 to 6 p.m.; Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Sundays from 4 to 6 p.m.
Since the bikes are not equipped with reflectors, night riding is illegal, therefore bikes must be returned by 6 p.m. the same day they are rented.
A $10 late fee will be charged for every hour the bike is late.
If bikes are not returned within 24 hours of the rental period, a $240 replacement fee will be charged.
This fee also applies for bikes that are damaged, lost or stolen.
Bikes will not be available for rental on certain holidays, including Halloween, Guavaween, Gasparilla, St. Patrick’s Day and fall and spring commencements.
Other rules and regulations, such as age, location for riding the bikes and condition of the bike apply when renting.
For a full list of rules, visit http://www.ut.edu/bikeut/rules/.
For other questions call (813) 258-7435 or email Kathryn White at kwhite@ut.edu.
Shivani Kanji can be reached at shivi88@gmail.com.