Search

The purpose of this document is to serve as a framework for planning a bicycle share system at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, with the possible inclusion of the City of Lincoln, Nebraska, in the system. This document provides a background review of the evolution of bike share systems and the recent rapid growth of these systems around the world. The document describes planning methodologies used in other locations and the lessons learned from the bike share systems around the world, as to what processes should be pursued to implement a successful bike share system. With the University of Nebraska-Lincoln move to the Big Ten, there has been a push to add an additional 5,000 students, which will put pressure on all existing resources. Bike share is one way to build extra capacity into the transportation system. In the case of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln being able to develop a bike share system by itself is not practical. If the City of Lincoln would consider a bike share system, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln should be an active participant. With the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, as an active partner with the City of Lincoln, there are many advantages for both parties. The City of Lincoln greatly benefits having the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and likewise the University of Nebraska-Lincoln benefits greatly by having a vibrant downtown area that makes the University of Nebraska Lincoln attractive to potential students and faculty. Bike share will not solve all the transportation issues at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln long term, but could become an important piece of the transportation systems in the future. This project looks at how new technology will be implemented in bike share and how NFC (near field communication) and RFID (radio-frequency identification) can be utilized to improve user experiences. The planning process is laid out in a way that should allow other universities and municipalities to gain knowledge to develop bike share systems that will be additions to the existing multimodal transportation options in their communities. By allowing people to access bikes at locations where they seek personal transportation and having bike share stations where they want to go, bike share systems are changing transportation in cities across the globe and helping to develop vibrant communities in those cities. Professional Project Advisory Committee: Professor Gordon Scholz, Dr. Yunwoo Nam, Dr. Zhenghong Tang. Project Recipient/Client: Jennifer Dam Shewchuk, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Assistant Director of Institutional Research and Planning for Campus Planning and Space Management