As a relatively compact city, Vermillion has the potential to support a strong bike culture. Increased biking in Vermillion has many benefits for our campus and community, including decreased congestion of parking lots on campus and streets around campus, improved health of those who bike, and mitigation of environmental impacts such as emissions from transportation.
The implementation of a bike share program on campus is one way to increase bike culture because it would provide students with access to bikes on an as-needed basis. A need assessment survey for the potential implementation of this program conducted by Vermillion’s “Making Lighter Footprints” Committee showed a positive response from the many USD students who participated.
In order to improve the bike culture on campus and address the interest expressed by students who participated in the survey, the Sustainability Club applied for the SGA Green Initiative Fund in October of 2016, and was awarded the $4,950 grant in November of 2016. Upon receiving the grant, Sustainability Capstone students developed a plan for a bike share program that will begin the implementation process in the Spring Semester of 2017. Sustainability Capstone aspires to have the Yote Bike Share Program up and running by the Fall Semester of 2017.https://red.library.usd.edu/sustainability-projects/1003/thumbnail.jp
