The bike-share program Syracuse University is planning to implement in spring 2015 will benefit students. Though the plan for the bike-share program already has positive aspects, the university should provide locks and additional locations when implementing the system.

Students will be able to rent the bikes for free from Archbold Gymnasium, but must sign a liability waiver before using them. The university should provide locks to students who rent out bicycles. Having standardized locks for all rented bikes would make the system more secure — and convenient — for students who want to rent a bike on a whim and don’t have a lock with them. If SU invests in quality bike locks for the rentals, the university will be less at risk for having its bikes stolen on or off campus.

The university has also considered placing a bicycle kiosk on South Campus. Implementing a bike kiosk on South Campus in addition to Archbold would be extremely beneficial for students who don’t want to rely on the bus system but don’t have a car.

When rolling out the program next semester, SU should start slowly by investing in just a few bikes to see if the program is popular. If there is high demand for the bike share, SU can order the appropriate amount of bikes in coming semesters. Having too many bikes and a lack of interest would be a waste of resources.

If the program proves to be successful, the university should also look into adding a kiosk to downtown Syracuse. This could be an effective alternative to the Connective Corridor and would give students more freedom to visit downtown. And for students that choose to live downtown and commute to the university, establishing a bike kiosk in the city would provide more options for travel.

A bike-share system would be a positive addition to the SU campus. The university should consider these details while planning the launch of the program on campus.