Green Bike Program
Mission Statement
The Green Bike Program is a student-run organization created to promote cycling, bike safety and sustainability at The Claremont Colleges and the surrounding community. This is done through the reuse of old bikes and parts along with the organization of cycling events. The Green Bike Program gives community members free access to bicycles, tools, repair lessons.
History
Originally started in 2001 to test what effect the availability of bicycles would have on the Claremont College community, Pitzer College’s Green Bike Program is now a highly efficient and renowned staple of the Claremont Colleges. The program was started by three young men who decided to service ten bicycles and lend them out to members of the Pitzer College community in order to combat the Los Angeles car culture. Their hope was that, by making bicycles accessible and free, students and faculty would decrease car use. As it turned out, Pitzer community members who normally drove around the square mile enclosure of the campus were happy to replace gasoline with their own leg power and commute via bicycle. This positive reception promoted the expansion of the program. A space was set up in a dormitory basement where volunteers could repair the bicycles that were discarded by seniors after their last semester at college and then redistribute them to current students. A bi-annual bike raffle was implemented in order to fairly distribute free bicycles to interested students. As the program progressed the three volunteers and ten bicycles grew and the small workspace was upgraded. In 2008, a fleet of approximately eighty “green bikes” and ten volunteers moved into a larger space, specifically designed for the program in the center of Pitzer’s campus. What began as an experiment to counteract automobile use has turned into a student-run cooperative organization aimed at getting the community interested in bikes and promoting safe riding and knowledge of bicycle repair.
Location and Hours
Piter College 1050 N. Mills Ave Claremont, CA 91711
Located on the Pitzer College Service Road between the Gold Student Center and Atherton Hall
Monday-Friday 12-5pm
Open for sporadic hours during the summer and winter college vacation months.
Contact
pitzergbp@gmail.com