Penn State community members and visitors will now be able to grab a bicycle for their treks around the University Park campus and State College with a new bike-share program.
The university has partnered with bike-share company Zagster to offer bicycles for on-demand local trips. The program is expected to start by the end of August.
Starting with 85 bikes across 17 stations on the University Park campus, the bike share will offer annual memberships as well as single-use rides charged by the hour. Yearly memberships for students will be $25 and faculty and staff memberships will be $35. Community members and frequent visitors can get a membership for $50 per year.
Single-use rides without a membership will be $3 per hour. Riders must be 18 or older to use the bike share.
Penn State previously partnered with Zagster to launch a bike-share program at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center and College of Medicine. The company more than 160 bike-share programs in 35 states and specializes in areas other bike share providers don’t typically reach.
The program features the Zagster 8 bike, which the company says is known for a comfortable ride and ease of handling. The bike has a basket for carrying belongings and a safety features including automatic lights, a bell and reflectors
Though riders begin and end their rides at fixed station locations, the bikes have a built-in lock, so users don’t have to go to a designated station for mid-trip stops.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Zagster, the industry leader in campus bike share programs, to bring another great alternative transportation option to the University Park campus,” Cecily Zhu, alternative transportation programs coordinator for Penn State Transportation Services, said in a statement.
