By Maegan White
Elm Staff Writer
The Student Government Association Bike Share program has existed on campus in some capacity for over two decades, but fell into disuse during COVID-19. The SGA is working to bring the program back and has allocated nearly $15,000 to reviving the program this year.
According to the SGA Secretary of the Environment senior Kevin Denice, Bike Share is a free bicycle rental program for students operated by the SGA Secretary of the Environment. The goal of the program is to reduce students’ reliance on cars and make off campus destinations more accessible.
The SGA is responsible for maintaining the bikes, advertising, and funding the program.
Senior Seyed Marjaei served as the SGA Secretary of the Environment from 2020-21, during the pandemic. Even though he and other students were not on campus, he continued to do work on improving the Bike Share program.
He brainstormed the idea of creating an app to make Bike Share more accessible and easier to use.
Marajaei spent over a year collaborating with Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science Dr. Shaun Ramsey, the Makers Union, and students from other colleges with similar apps to create a unique Washington College-specific Bike Share app.
Even after his term as Secretary of the Environment ended, his work on the app did not.
In the fall, Marajaei partnered with Dartek Solutions, who will serve as the app operator and conduct regular maintenance on the app. The contract signed between the SGA and Dartek intentionally kept the ownership of the app with students to maintain Marajaei’s goal of making the app unique to Washington College.
“I wanted this whole program to be for students, by students,” Marajaei said. “The app has also created funding for student jobs after I graduate so other WC students can continue to upkeep and work on improving the app.”
While Marjaei was working on developing the app, the bikes remained on campus locked on outside bike racks exposed to the elements. Since no students were on campus due to the pandemic and the transition back to on-campus learning in 2021, the bikes did not receive any maintenance for over two years.
SGA Environmental Committee Chair senior Jack Goembel and Denice headed the efforts in the fall semester to refurbish and maintain the bikes. They cleaned rust off the bikes, purchased new chains, replaced broken parts, and other general maintenance and cleaning procedures.
All 18 bikes are being repaired and tested to make sure they are ready for students’ use.
“Since the start of last semester we have made a great deal of progress revamping the program. We have recovered all of the bikes, updated how the program will run, have been collaborating with [Marjaei] to develop an app that we can run the program on, and have acquired a usable shed for the program,” Denice said. “We have made a significant amount of progress repairing the bikes thanks to the help of my committee members, but still have a lot of work left to do.”
Goembel said that the bike program can play a crucial role in the student experience in Chestertown. With limited public transportation, many students have not explored Chestertown and engaged in community activities.
With access to bikes, Goembel said, more students will be able to connect with the Chestertown Community.
“This program makes the area surrounding campus more accessible to students,” he said. “It’s good to be involved in the broader community, not just the college campus. I think this program is critical for getting students more involved with activities in Chestertown, would reduce emissions on campus significantly, and would get around faster and easier.”
Before the official launch, there will be a pilot phase with the SGA environmental committee. According to Denice, the Bike Share program should be ready for student use by March.
Students can rent a bike for a day, week, or even a month. When the app is ready for launch, there will be additional information sent out via email. If anyone has questions, they can reach out to Denice at kdenice2@washcoll.edu.
Photo by Parker Thornton
Photo Caption: Student bikes can be parked at the bike rack outside the doors of Hodson Hall.