BYU NewsNet - Bicycles becoming more common

With the current economy, students are looking for ways to cut the costs of living all across the board. Whether it’s eating out less or clipping coupons, students are cutting financial corners wherever they can — including cutting back on driving and switching to other modes of transportation.

Many BYU students are doing just that — leaving their car keys home this term and hitting the road on their bicycles instead.

“It’s nice to have a car, but it’s funny to see students driving from King Henry [apartments] to campus,” said Travis Martin, manager of Mad Dog Cycles in Provo. Martin said his store, which is located between King Henry and BYU’s campus, serves about 1,000 BYU students a year.

According to 1 World, 2 Wheels, an organization sponsored by U.S. bike maker Trek Bicycles, 40 percent of all commuting trips occur within just two miles of home. Twenty-five percent are made within just one mile.

For the 18,000 BYU students who live within the two mile off-campus housing radius each semester, switching from cars to bicycles would allow them to take advantage of a shorter commute than most Americans. Those with a commute of less than two miles fall within the target group the Web site encourages to consider switching to bikes.

While gas prices rose as high as a staggering $4 in 2008, this year’s troubled economy and lower gas prices have had a mixed effect on BYU cyclists, causing some students to take to the streets on bikes, others to take the bus and still others to just move home.

“The reason [for the increase in biking] is because the economy is doing bad,” said Bicycle Garage Indy employee Josh Praeter in a Ball State Daily News article. “Speculators estimated less spending on bikes due to the economy and tight spending, but with the increasing gas prizes, the bike market never went down.”

According to the National Bike Dealers Association of America Web site, bike sales increased by nearly 300,000 in 2008, up from 18.2 million bicycles in 2007. But it’s too soon to tell for 2009.

Last year, Martin said he saw increased bike sales and repairs due to the high gas prices. This year, bike sales in his shop have decreased.

Rebecca Fischer, a sophomore majoring in travel and tourism, said she used to live in Heritage Halls but moved back to her home in north Salt Lake to save on rent and food. Now she drives a car to BYU two days a week instead.

“My car gets really good gas mileage so it hasn’t been a concern for me,” Fischer said.

Meanwhile, Kameron Smith, a sophomore majoring in mathematics education, travels to campus five days a week and is considering getting a bike.

Smith, who currently lives in Sandy, drives his car to the UTA bus stop near his home and then takes the bus to campus four days a week. Soon he may be riding his bicycle to the stop instead.

“As college students we don’t have a lot of money,” Smith said. “Taking an alternative form of transportation only helps our cause.”

One option for bus-riders is to ride their bicycles to the stop and then load them on the bus for further use once their bus commute is over.

Smith said he believes that by riding a bicycle to the bus stop he can save on gas while staying in shape.

Stacey Adamson, senior marketing representative for UTA’s Timpanogos area, said she believes riding a bicycle and taking the bus are a viable alternative to driving.

“It’s a great way to remind people about bicycling while getting multi-modal transportations as well,” Adamson said, adding that every UTA bus has a bike rack.

According to a pamphlet put out by the American Bicyclists Association for National Bike Month, the biggest cost of automobile ownership is the insurance and car payments that are paid up front. About 25 percent of most people’s income can be freed up by getting rid of their first – or second or third–car.

Many companies are starting to offer commuter programs for their employees where days commuted to work by bike earn credit that can be traded in for cash. For example, Mad Dog Cycles in Provo offers its employees $50 in cash incentives for every 50 bike rides taken in place of driving.

“If you’re already riding your bike, it’s like an added bonus,” said Tashonnie Touchin, a senior majoring in manufacturing engineering who occasionally rides to work to qualify for the program. “It’s like a dollar a day, and [the $50] fills up my tank twice.”

Greenlightride.com is one service that promotes commuter programs like Mad Dog’s. They push for more businesses to adopt similar programs, based on 1world2wheels.org’s claim that 50 percent of the working population commutes five miles or less to work.