Procedures and Rules

Bike Loan Period.

Bikes can be loaned for short rides of under 2 hours during the day free of charge. They can also be borrowed during the day for a period greater than 2 hours for a charge of $1. Bikes can be taken out for the night for a charge of $5 however the borrower must be registered in the system as having access to a front and rear bike light. No bikes will be loaned out during the months of November to March.

Who Can Borrow Bikes?

Only registered users with MIT IDs can borrow bikes.

Checking Availability.

To check the availability of bikes at all hubs around MIT go to the avalability page.

How TechBikes Works

What is Needed to Run the Program?

In order to run TechBikes, we will need many components such as personnel to head operations, maintain the hardware, advertise for the program, and develop the technology required for TechBikes. In addition, we will also need initial funding to get TechBikes off the ground, as well as to keep the program financially capable of continued operations. Furthermore, we will also need the actual bicycles, locking mechanisms, and checkout technology required to have TechBikes. Finally, we will need a community of bike-share members in order for TechBikes to be a successful project in sustainability.

How will bikes be obtained?

With respect to acquiring bicycles, we will need an inexpensive source of bicycles to populate the TechBikes program. Ideally, we would like to acquire all of the bikes for TechBikes for free, but there may not be enough supply to meet our demand. Good places to look for inexpensive bicycles include the annual MIT police bicycle auction, thrift stores, URI used bikes, and charitable donations from alumni, faculty and staff, and the residents of the area surrounding MIT. We can also consider asking graduating students to donate their bikes before they move away, or to ask students who are planning to upgrade their bikes to give TechBikes their old bikes. Unique bikes through Adshel and Depo profit-based advertising programs are another option. Since we plan to acquire the majority of our bikes through inexpensive purchases or charitable donations, we will have to use whatever kind of bicycles we receive. Beggars cannot be choosers, after all.

How will theft and vandalism be prevented?

Theft and vandalism are often big problems for bike share programs. We will take a number of actions to reduce the number of bikes and bike parts lost.

Making our bikes easily distinguishable is one of the first steps. We will do this for two reasons. First of all, it creates a sense of unity and organization for the TechBikes program, designating it as more than just a group of bicycles spread out among MIT. It would also be an effective passive theft deterrent, since people would be less likely to steal a conspicuous bicycle. Furthermore, by making all of our bicycles a certain color or design, we can significantly increase the publicity and recognition of TechBikes, and subsequently increase participation in the program.

Another critical step is to register all of our bicycles with MIT Campus Police. After that, security would depend mainly on the design of the TechBikes checkout system. Including locking mechanisms at each bike hub would be an effective theft deterrent. Realistically, though, if were properly motivated, any of our bikes can be stolen. Therefore, we must do just enough to make stealing the bike hard enough that it would be inconvenient to steal such a bike. Other bike share programs have tested with success the use of security hardware (bolts, nuts, etc) and non-standard parts that cannot be used on used on normal bikes if stolen. The inexpensive nature of our bikes and the uniform color/design will also help contribute to decrease loss.

How should bikes be maintained?

Maintaining the bicycles will be a very important issue to resolve before we initiate the TechBikes program. First, we must determine the most common problems that can arise during the course of the program, and formulate inexpensive and widely-available solutions to such problems. For instance, one of the most common problems that we can expect is flat tires. Therefore, we should include a bike pump at each of our hubs so that users can fix flat tires quickly and without help. If problems arise that cannot be solved by the user alone, we will need to keep a maintenance crew on hand to perform maintenance operations on bikes that need it. This will also mean that we will have to perform regular checks on our bicycle inventory to make sure that every bike is usable and in good condition.

If there is a problem during use, the most practical solution would be for the user to walk the bike to the nearest hub and leave it there with a note on the bike saying that there is a problem with it. By the next check, the problem bikes can be spotted and taken away for maintenance. To minimize the number of problems that occur during use, all bikes will be turned in during the months of December to April, when bike riding is most dangerous.