Bike It, You'll Like It
Liability Waiver Quicklink

  • Do you have a friend in town for the weekend and want to take them on a quick tour of San Francisco?
  • Have you always wanted to try commuting to school on a bicycle but are hesitant to invest in a bike?
  • Or, do you simply just want to test out different kinds of bicycle for a change?

          ….well then, try BIKE SHARE!

"This caused me to realize that there is a better mode choice than driving to work.  It has propelled me into buying a bicycle!" - Professor Mike Cassidy

About Us

A group of graduate students from the City and Regional Planning and Transportation Engineering departments at the University of California, Berkeley, are operating a non-profit Bicycle Share Program, made possible by sponsorship from the Graduate Assembly (GA).  “Bike It, You’ll Like It!”, launched during fall 2006, has begun renting out shared bicycles to graduate students with a planning, urban design, or transportation research focus (i.e., primarily graduate students in Transportation Engineering and City and Regional Planning departments.)  With the theme of environmental and social sustainability in mind, “Bike It” officers strive to use this program to set an example for the rest of the UC community in making the bicycle a regular choice of commute.

The Program is not only used as a way to promote bicycle usage and awareness, and enhance public health, but as a long-term goal, the Program is also used to convince car users to switch modes once they discover the benefits of biking.

Small Bike

We currently have four bicycles available; each bike comes fully equipped with lights for nighttime usage, a heavy duty U-lock, and a helmet.  If you are not sure which bike you should check out, e-mail the "Bike It" officers at bikeshare@gmail.com for assistance.

Upcoming Meetings

Our next Scheduled Meeting is at 12:30p on Monday, December 5 at McLaughlin Hall in the ITS Library. This will be our last meeting of the semster and we'll discuss changes in bike rental policies.

Joining The Program

To participate in the bicycle share, you must be a current graduate student with a research focus in planning, urban design, or transportation engineering. Students in either the City and Regional Planning or Transportation Engineering departments at UCB automatically qualify. There is a one-time, fully-refundable (except in the case of theft or extreme damage) $25 fee for joining. Usage fee has currently been waived for the semester. To join the Program, simply print, fill out, and sign the liability waiver and hand it to one of the "Bike It" officers (see below) along with your cash/check of $25 made out to UC Regents.

Pickup

The bikes are designed to be rented out for two rental periods: weekdays and weekends. However, we can also be flexible on the rental period, given advance notice. Just e-mail us about it!

The bikes can be picked up on the first day of your rental period from McLaughlin Hall. An “in-charge” "Bike It" officer will notify you of a more exact pickup (and dropoff) location. If you are late picking up the bike for your rental period, “Bike It” officers reserve the right to rent the bicycle to another participant for that period.

Be sure to come on time with $25 (check preferred) to your designated pickup location. You will be given a short lesson on safety as well as in adjusting the bike to your fit. We will also demonstrate how to properly lock the bicycle to prevent theft.

Return

The bikes must be returned to a location agreed upon between you and the “in-charge” "Bike It" officer on the last day of your rental period. Please do not be late with returning the bicycle, as other user(s) may need it immediately after your use.

Reservation

To sign up for the bike, simply send us an email with your name, requested size (tall, medium, or small), and requested rental period specifying the start date of the period (e.g., “M-W, starting on Oct 29, 2007”, or “weekday rental starting on Oct 29”) to bikeshare@gmail.com. Someone will respond to you as soon as possible – most likely within 24 hours. If no one has requested the bicycle for the period after yours, you may extend your rental period.

Update November 2008: Our program will be migrating to a long-term "rental" model. ITS students can now request to check out our shared bikes for the semester. We will be taking e-mail requests at bikeshare@gmail.com, and we will do a lottery at the Dec 5 meeting if there are more than four people requesting for bikes for next semester.

After that – be safe and have fun!

Note: "Bike It" officers reserve the rights to change any of the above terms and conditions at any time.  This includes fees, rental duration, pickup/return times, etc.

History & Acknowledgement

Bike It, You'll Like It! was founded in Fall 2006 by six graduate students at UC Berkeley with a transportation research focus: Chris Lollini, Catalina Ochoa, Greg Siebert, Rebecca Sanders, Stella So, and Wendy Tao. Initially created as a sub-group within the UCB student organization TRANSOC (Transportation Graduate Students' Organizing Committee), Bike It was officially registered as an independent student organization in Fall 2007 through the Campus Life and Leadership Office at UC Berkeley.

The 2008 Bike It officers include Eric Gonzales, Offer Grembek, Josh Pilachowski, Greg Siebert and Stella So. Other former officers and founders such as Rebecca Sanders and Wendy Tao also continue to offer advice to the group on a voluntary basis.

Besides officers of Bike It who volunteer their time to operating and managing the shared bicycles of this Program, other individuals have also helped contribute to the success of this Program. In January 2007, Transportation Engineering PhD student Megan Smirti donated her Gary Fisher hybrid bike to the Program. In July 2008, Stephen Coulter, a friend of TRANSOC, also donated his yellow Mongoose mountain bike to Bike It. Many participants of our Program have since benefited greatly from the use of their donated bikes.

FAQ

1.   What if the bike gets stolen while it is under my watch?
You lose your $25 deposit.  You will also have to file a police report and help us re-apply for funding from the GA to replace the stolen bicycle.

2.   What if I lose one of the accessories, e.g., the helmet, a light, or the U-lock?
You will receive a warning when this happens for the first time and be partially charged for the replacement of the accessory (up to the amount of the deposit).  You will not be able to rent from us again it happens the second time.

3.   When can I get my $25 deposit back?
This $25 is your membership fee for joining this Bicycle Share Program, which the Officers of this Program hold for as long as you are in the Program.  You get the full amount of deposit back whenever you decide to leave the Program.

4.   How can I know which dates are available?
See the calendar here When you access the calendar, you will be able to navigate through it and check availability up to four weeks in advance. You can then place your rental request via e-mail to .

5.   If I am not a student in City Planning or Transportation Engineering, can I still join the Program?
Yes, as long as you are a current graduate student at UC Berkeley, and can prove you have a research focus in city planning, urban design, or transportation engineering. Unfortunately, due to the lack of resources, we are not able to open this Program up to more people.

6.   Can I pick up or return the bike somewhere else?
You may be able to make special arrangement with the in-charge Bike Share officer.  However, please be considerate toward all the officers’ schedule limitations – we are just a group of volunteers and graduate students!

7.   Who are the bike share officers, and how do I contact them?
The "Bike It" officers for 2007-2008 are Eric Gonzales, Offer Grembek, Josh Pilachowski, Greg Siebert, and Stella So.  You may contact us by e-mail at .