Matthew Goss ’17 and Maija Lindaas ’16
The Purple Bike Coalition (PBC) just wrapped up another successful year as Williams’ free student-run bike rental and repair service. Our work is made possible by the Center for Environmental Studies, College Council, Campus Safety and Security (CSS), and the Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives.
Continuing the work of previous years, we have continued to expand and increase the accessibility of our rental program, providing free three-week bike rentals in fall, spring, and summer. Thanks to the generous donations of students, faculty, and CSS, our rental fleet has now grown to include more than fifty bicycles.This year, we hosted Open Hours twice weekly, offering free bike repair to any Williams-affiliated visitors and teaching bike mechanics to any who wanted to learn. Working in concert with thinkFOOD, we helped run a farm bike tour in the Spring.
New to the PBC this year were short-term bike rentals run in cooperation with the Williams Outing Club (WOC). The WOC equipment room is open five days a week and facilitated one-day rentals of three mountain bikes. This smaller rental program maximized bike accessibility when demand consistently outstripped our supply for three-week rentals.
We look forward to another exciting year as Rob Hefferon ’18 and Peter Lugthart ’18 take on leadership roles with Matthew Goss ’17 to continue to bring bike accessibility and repair to campus.
More information about the PBC can be found at sites.williams.edu/bikes
Megamenu Social