Program fights traffic by loaning bikes

Plan also offers exercise and saves wear on cars

CHAPEL HILL -- Public transportation is supposed to be cheap.

Now, in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, it can be good exercise, too.

On Monday, 30 used mountain bikes were reborn as community-owned loaners.

They're the "Blue Urban Bikes" fleet, tuned up and painted an unmistakable Carolina blue.

For a $10 annual membership fee, riders can borrow one and roll out for as long as 24 hours.

"For people used to driving everywhere, this is an easy, cheap introduction to public transportation," said Chris Richmond of the ReCYCLEry, an amateur mechanics collective that will maintain the fleet.

The ReCYCLEry runs the bike-loan project with the Carrboro-based environmental group SURGE, which stands for Students United for a Responsible Global Environment.

Similar initiatives have cropped up in other college towns, such as Davidson, home of Davidson College, Austin, Texas, and near Emory University in Atlanta.

So far, two racks hold the bikes. One is in The Courtyard by the 3 Cups coffee shop at 431 W. Franklin St.

The other is in front of the Skylight Exchange cafe at 405 1/2 W. Rosemary St., several blocks away.

Members of the bike-loan program will present something akin to a library card to borrow bikes from clerks at 3 Cups or Skylight Exchange.

Each bike comes with a lock and a rack in back to hold book bags or baskets. Helmets are not provided.

The project is expected to grow by 20 bikes each year. More hubs -- one in Carrboro and one on East Franklin Street -- are already in the works, said Alison Carpenter with SURGE.

Though negotiations haven't started, Carpenter also said SURGE and the ReCYCLEry will push for a location on UNC-Chapel Hill's campus.

Terri Swanson, one of 25 people who signed up in advance, knows that's a place best traversed on two wheels.

"When I drive, it's almost impossible to find parking there," said Swanson, who runs a landscaping company with her husband.

Through their business, the couple have a contract with the university and frequently have to make forays into campus from their office on West Franklin Street.

Swanson would much rather zoom straight to a bike rack than hunt for an empty parking space.

"It's good exercise and saves wear and tear on our car," Swanson said. "I think it's a great idea."