Abandoned BikesĪfter the students who launched the reCYCLE program graduated, UGA Transportation and Parking did not have enough resources to manage abandoned bikes piling up on campus, so Perry stepped in to streamline the processĪny bike that appears to be abandoned on a campus bicycle rack undergoes a 90-day tagging process followed by another 90-day impoundment, facilitated by the UGA Police Department, before it is formally declared abandoned. “The most valuable part of this program is collaborating with other units to campus to provide access to a resource that may not otherwise be available for students,” said Jackson. Students may need a bike to travel to classes and meetings on campus, appointments off-campus, or a job in the local community, especially if they don’t have a car or on-campus parking spot. “These bicycles can ease the burden of not living close to a UGA or Athens-Clarke County Transit bus stop and allow the student to be as efficient as possible with their time,” he said. Student Care and Outreach refers students in need of a bicycle to the UGA reCYCLE program through the Office of Sustainability, according to Stan Jackson, assistant to the vice president of student affairs. The reCYCLE program is run by a coalition of partners including the UGA Office of Sustainability, UGA Transportation and Parking, UGA Police Department and the local non-profit BikeAthens. UGA ‘reCYCLE’ recycles unused bikes to provide private vehicles to those in need. Why It’s Newsworthy: In light of the coronavirus pandemic, many UGA students and Athens residents may be wary of taking public transit but do not have another option. Perry is a program coordinator for the UGA Office of Sustainability and self-proclaimed “local expert on what to do with junky bikes.” Now, it has grown into a stream-lined program that collects and refurbishes deserted bicycles to give to UGA students and faculty in need of transportation, according to Jason Perry. The University of Georgia reCYCLE program began in 2014 when student workers in transportation and parking services noticed a lot of abandoned bikes on campus bike racks.
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