College Campuses Embrace Bike Share

As universities compete for students, some are promoting their bicycling programs to stand out from the crowd and demonstrate a commitment to environmental sustainability, writes Stuart Elliott.

"The University of Dayton, in Dayton, Ohio, is promising 100 incoming freshmen free bikes in exchange for pledges to forgo bringing cars to campus for the first two years they are enrolled... The free bicycles, which the University of Dayton is purchasing from a company named Linus Bike, complement an initiative that the school began two years ago, offering students a chance to participate in a bicycle-sharing program."

"'Even though it’s a branding and marketing initiative,' the bicycle program is 'born out of the culture of the institution,' he adds, because 'the Marianist philosophy is all about asking these big questions and getting answers. It's a journey to learn, to improve yourself, to improve the world.'"

"The giveaway becomes 'an easy and simple way to let kids in on what the place is like,' Mr. [Darryl] Cilli [chief creative officer of the firm hired by the University of Dayton] says, and can help increase the likelihood that the prospective students will accept and attend the University of Dayton."