Sarthak and Morgan met with Phil Krein to talk about the EV charging support on campus. See attached the powerpoint slides that Phil shared. Following are some talking points:

• Include Phil Krein to the EV steering committee meeting
• Type-1 chargers – cheap and better for our campus needs
• Schedule a meeting with only Maria, MW, and Stacey
• Morgan will talk to Lowa about why Parking prefers Level-2 chargers
• Talk to Utilities, which parking infrastructure is the healthiest to support the level-1 chargers and then talk to SSC if we can pilot it.

See the meeting recording here: https://uofi.box.com/s/o462lbl362rpw9p7jvoet8cmqsgxf7x6

Met with Brandon, Cody, Chris, Jeremy, and Toby from the Parking department to discuss the Bicycle Roundup project and the timeline. Gave them an overview of the system that we are using (ArcGIS Field Maps) and what to look for in the maps. Informed them that we have started the tagging process and expect to finish tagging all bicycles by June 16, 2023.

F&S TDM will tag and identify the abandoned bicycles, then Parking will remove them and transport them to the West Round Barn, and F&S TDM will inventory the bicycles. F&S TDM will organize the bicycle pick up for students in fall semester.

Following is the expected timeline for this project:

Start of the Tagging: 6/8/2023

End of tagging process: 6/16/2023

Start of the identification of abandoned bicycles: 7/5/2023

End of the identification of abandoned bicycles:  7/10/2023

Parking to remove abandoned bicycles (Start): 7/5/2023

Parking to remove abandoned bicycles (End): 7/14/2023

All, Feast or famine over here last week. Beginning of the week we were slammed but slow n’ steady by Friday. TBP held their Members’ Meeting last Monday and I attended. Got a unicycle donated as well as a handful of bikes, including some kids bikes.

Spent 15 minutes on the phone with a gentleman from a rural town outside Bloomington, IL looking for a bike. Really speaks to the need that we’re getting interest from an hour plus drive away. Or maybe my hyper-local bike-only travel mindset makes that distance seem more unreasonable than it is…

I was a bit more diligent this past week about tracking non-university visits to better reflect how many folks we’re helping.

The numbers:

Visitors: 33
Sales: $1,285.17
Bikes: 3 for $540
Membership: 7 for $210
Tires/tubes: 16 for $166.00

Thanks!

Jacob Benjamin
Campus Bike Center Coordinator

Following is some information from Anna Dragovich from Indiana University Bloomington regarding their Emergency Ride Home program:

• What is the current budget to run this program?
  • It’s not much – maybe $1,000-$2,000/year. I don’t have a set budget – it’s just whatever people use, is what I reimburse. It hasn’t gotten out of hand enough for me to apply any more restrictions than what we already have in place. Surprisingly, not many take advantage of it.
• I see that you use Chrome River for users to get reimbursement. I seem to recall that your department used to pay for this system. Is this still the case?
  • Yes, this is still the case. We use Chrome River to facilitate that reimbursement. We have the steps outlined here on our website (scroll down a little).
• How many people are enrolled in this program?
  • ERH is eligible only for people who are enrolled in our commuter program which is about 800.
• How many people use it?
  • I’ve had only about 10 people use it in the last year.
• How do you confirm if the users availed this service for a legitimate reason?
  • We have them attest that they used it for legitimate reasons when they submit in Chrome River.
• Have you evaluated the program recently and whether there is still a desire/demand for ERH now that there are Uber/Lyft and other ride share programs available?
  • We encourage them to use Uber/Lyft and are reimbursing those expenses. A few years ago, they could only use taxi companies in town but with taxi’s going out of business and Uber/Lyft taking their place, we switched.

Summer Bicycle Roundup

Sticker Removal Required for Active Bikes

Each summer, F&S and the Parking Department identify and collect unwanted bicycles on campus after the end of the spring semester.

All bikes left on university property will be tagged with an orange sticker that reads, "Remove this tag by 6/30/23, or your bicycle will be removed." Any bicycle still displaying the sticker after that date will be impounded. If you presently have a bike in a campus rack, shelter, or parking location, please remember to remove this sticker to ensure your bike is designated as active.

To retrieve a bike that has been removed, contact bike@illinois.edu with your bicycle information. All recovered bicycles will need to be registered before being returned (https://bike.illinois.edu/register-your-bike/).

Sarthak Prasad met with Hrushikesh Chavan, a Master of Architecture student, to help with several sustainable transportation projects, including the end of year bicycle round up. Hrushikesh has agreed to volunteer his time to help with the bicycle round up project.

Please see attached the meeting notes from our meeting on May 22, 2023. Attended by: Morgan White, Stacey DeLorenzo, Sarthak Prasad, Jennifer Fraterrigo

Major talking points:

• Emergency/Guaranteed Ride Home program is like an insurance program
• Concern - program funding for itself
• Ride sharing
• Carpool options
• Three types of programs:
  • Celebrate those who active mode of transportation
  • Those who relinquish their parking pass (Commuter Program)
  • Emergency Ride Home Program

Action items for Sarthak:

• Ask Maria McMullen (Parking) – if there is a carpool permit and how does it work
• Ask Yanfeng about the Vanpool survey
• Have other universities done a study or a review of the ERH program
  • Whether there is a desire/demand for ERH now that there are Uber/Lyft and other programs
  • Have they evaluated their program?
  • If not, do a survey on campus
• talk to Advancements/Corporate Relations about Uber/Lyft (benefits/free)
  • Try and get a phone call with Barlo Levold
• Fact Sheet for all the different programs that support the car free lifestyle
  • Arent you glad, you dont have a car
  • Maybe work with a student group to make it a little
• Ask Veo and ZipCar if the participants used their services
• Ask for feedback from the participants
• Extend the pilot through to December
• Ask for feedback in fall
  • Not reopen the enrollment
• Talk to Parking
• Ask all parking permit holders if they may be interested in this program

Beginning Monday, May 22, the university and bike sharing partner Veo will launch a pilot program to explore the use of Cosmo-e bikes on the Urbana campus. During the trial, the motorized class two e-bikes will be allowed to operate on university streets and dedicated bicycle lanes. Rental bikes were previously restricted to pedaling only in these areas.

The program will run through Monday, August 7, at which point the ridership data and community feedback will be used to review the status of the service and determine future usage guidelines for the bikes before the start of the fall semester. Requirements for the pilot will also consist of strict geofencing restrictions for the class two e-bikes to protect pedestrian safety by properly balancing active transportation modes, including the following:

• Enforcing no-ride zones for the Main Quad, South Quad, Bardeen Quad, North Quad, Ikenberry Quad, and the trails of the Arboretum
• Maintaining existing prohibitions for sidewalks and multi-use shared paths
• Allowing parking only in designated university bicycle racks
• Regulating slower device speeds while on campus property (8 MPH maximum in primary areas)

Riders will receive more information, such as route maps and general reminders, from Veo before the pilot program begins. For questions about the upcoming pilot, contact hello@veoride.com. Additional resources are available on the Bike at Illinois website. 

Improving mobility options for students, faculty, and staff continues to be one of the university’s top transportation priorities. The pilot is the latest example of collaborative efforts to offer greater bike sharing availability and flexibility while maintaining the highest safety standards throughout the U of I’s jurisdictional locations.

Read more at Campus Pilot Project for Veo Motorized Bikes