Rocket Wheels set to cruise on campus

September 21, 2015 | UToday
By Cassandra DeYoung



This week, The University of Toledo will introduce a new bike share program for students called Rocket Wheels, which is sponsored by the Office of the Provost.

“There are a lot of different benefits to having this program,” said Diana Watts, transit service coordinator in the UT Department of Transit Services. “It reduces the carbon footprint on campus, which is one of UT’s initiatives, and it provides health and wellness, and allows students to get closer to their destination than they can with a vehicle.”

Rocky shows off one of the bikes students will be able to check out to ride through Rocket Wheels.

Rocky shows off one of the bikes students will be able to check out to ride through Rocket Wheels.

An official ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place at Rocket Hall later in September.

Students can check out bikes on Main Campus near Rocket Hall by the horse sculptures, by the south entrance of Palmer Hall and on the northeast side of West Parking Garage. Bikes must be returned to the same location from where they were checked out.

Registration is free and is available to all UT students in good standing.

To register, visit utoledo.edu/rocket-wheels. Processing may take up to 48 hours.

“The bike carousals will look like a vending machine with keys inside,” Watts said. “A student who is registered can swipe his or her Rocket ID into the machine and select a key to a bike to use. The machine’s door will open, and the student can grab the key selected and after shutting the door, he or she can proceed to where the bikes are locked, unlock the selected bike, and go.”

Bikes can be checked out for four-hour intervals Monday through Friday and eight-hour intervals Saturday and Sunday. A $10 hourly fee will be issued if the bikes are not returned within the given time or after operating hours.

Rocket Wheels will be available from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. during fall, spring and summer semesters. Availability will change to 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. from December through March and will be dependent on weather conditions.

“This is another way for students to get around campus without worrying about parking and will give students who don’t have a car on campus more freedom to visit spots that they wouldn’t normally walk to but could ride a bike,” Watts said. “Our buses have bike racks so students are able to take a bus to a certain point and ride the bike further.”

For more information, email bikeshare@utoledo.edu or call UT Transit Services at 419.530.1026.

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