A well-known program in Madison, Wis., has found its way to NIU and seeks to alleviate the stress caused by taking long walks and crowded buses to class.

Mary Crocker, NIU director of recycling programs and operations, began the program, “Bike Me,” in February when Robert Albanese, associate vice president of finance and facilities, suggested how successful the program had been at the University of Wisconsin.

Beginning today, 25 bikes will be distributed throughout campus as an alternative to the typical transportation options that cause congestion on university streets.

“Someone in Stevenson could go downstairs, see one of the red bikes, and bang, take it to Barsema,” Crocker said. “Although our primary objective is the students, this is also available to faculty and staff.”

Albanese, who recently spent some time in the Madison area, observed a bike program organized by a bike shop owner Roger Charlie who spent a great deal of time compiling old and used bikes from around town, dipping them in a red paint and distributing them throughout Madison primarily for the use of students in order to have another viable option of getting from point A to point B.

The program exposed little theft with the bikes and, for the most part, is considered an enormous success.

“Mr. Albanese came to me in February and said, ‘Why can’t we do it?’” Crocker said.

From that point on, the “Bike Me” program took shape. Albanese was able to provide Crocker with $1,500 to fund the program with the money mainly allocated for repairs, painting and in some cases the purchasing of old bikes.

Crocker said most bikes, however, are ones found in dumpsters or those donated from people throughout the city. She felt community involvement at this early stage in “Bike Me” bodes well in making this a citywide program.

“We’ve been looking for people in the community to call and say, ‘Hey I have this old bike, could you use it,’” Crocker said. “People from the community are really coming forth on this. At some point we would like to have enough bikes to place perhaps in the downtown area.”

“Bike Me” is entirely free to students and faculty and more importantly, Crocker said, is based on an old-fashioned honor system.

“These bikes are relatively unattractive and will be highly detectable on campus,” Crocker said. “They’re not particularly attractive for anyone to rip off. The honor system with this is important. If we begin to see lots of bikes being stolen, then we may reconsider the program.”

The process is simple, Crocker said. A student who finds a red bike near their class or residence hall can ride it to wherever they need to go, leave it there for someone else or take it back where they found it. There is no signing up or collateral a student needs to provide.

Students then could take the bike from one area of the campus to the other, leaving it in plain sight when finished for the next student.

While this program is only in its infancy, Crocker already has laid the groundwork for plans that would expand the program.

She’s considering speaking to University Police regarding the purchasing or donation of lost bikes that are never claimed or having students themselves come to her with old bikes they no longer need.

Crocker said she would continue to pursue grants to help fund the program while continuing her excellent relationship with Bluemoon Bikes Cycle and Fitness Center in Sycamore and the DeKalb Cyclery.

“I’m not going to be naïve and see we won’t lose bikes,” Crocker said. “But this program really has potential I think. And anyone who has any other ideas about how to make this program work are more than welcome to contact me.”

If anyone has an idea, would like to donate the bike or volunteer in helping with the “Bike Me” program, call Mary Crocker at 753-1590 or Alex Dreyer, student coordinator with recycling and senior engineering major, at 753-0352.