By: Jordan Mecca

Bulldog Bikes upgraded the make and model of its bikes this semester after a redesign of the program, increasing availability and accessibility on campus.

Bulldog Bikes are now available for students, faculty and staff at the Main Library and Science Library – and they are free, according to Jason Perry, coordinator of the UGA Office of Sustainability. Previously, only departments could rent out the bikes.

This program has been around for three years and has used 10 three-speed bikes.  The bikes were too heavy to get around the hilly UGA campus and were upgraded to a hybrid model, explained in the video below.

For freshman UGA student Song Yi, this transition makes it possible to go from north campus to the art school within 15 minutes.

“I have to go there around lunch time so all of the buses get packed,” Yi said. “So sometimes I get kicked out because there are so many people on the bus, so it’s faster to rent a bike than wait on a bus.”

There are still only 10 bikes in the program, and everyday they go quickly at the main library. Perry hopes to double the number of bikes and get bikes at the Miller Learning Center and the Health Science campus.

You can sign up at http://sustainability.uga.edu/bulldogbikes/. You need to sign a waiver and have your UGA ID present to check out a bike.