A partnership with the City of Wichita has brought WSU Bike Share ICT to the Wichita
State campus.
Bike Share ICT comes to Wichita State campus
March 5, 2019
By Jackie Elson, journalism major
Bike Share ICT
Bike Share ICT, a program of Health ICT, provides the Wichita community with convenient,
affordable access to bicycles as an easy, fun, healthy and eco-friendly means of transportation
and recreation.
Wichita State students and the campus community now have more options to get around
campus with Bike Share ICT at WSU.
Bike Share ICT will allow riders to pay through an app, grab a bike from one station,
ride it to another Bike Share ICT rack on or off campus, and leave it there.
Students can buy a yearly membership with their Shocker email for $20 (with the yearly
membership, the first 59 minutes each trip are free).
The membership is good not just on campus, but for the Bike Share ICT system throughout
Wichita, with access to more than 40 stations and 200 bicycles. The hourly rate for
the campus community is $2 an hour. Regular users pay $3 an hour or $30 a year.
To rent the bikes, users can simply download the Zagster app, locate the bike’s number,
unlock it through payment, and ride.
Racks on main campus are located near the Rhatigan Student Center, the Heskett Center
and at the Experiential Engineering Building. There is also one rack located at the
Hughes Metropolitan Complex. Parking at the complex is also free, so taking a bike
from there to main campus can be a cheap option with a membership.
Ellen Abbey, director of WSU Auxiliary Services, said students and anyone on campus
can benefit from this partnership because it provides another form of transportation.
It also brings people using Bike Share across the city to the WSU campus.
“There is a big movement right now for going green, driving less and other options,”
she says. “It just really doesn’t matter how big we get because it’s going to be so
easy to get around. With bikes, there are options. You don’t have to worry about moving
your car and parking. Anyone on the outskirts of campus will find it easier to get
from one place to another.”
These bikes are the same as those downtown, so users are able to pick up and drop
off bikes anywhere that the appropriate racks are located in the city.
To rent the bikes, users can simply download the Zagster app, locate the bike’s number,
unlock it through payment, and ride. The bikes can be put at any station and or be
locked mid-ride if the rider has to stop before they get to another rack. When you
choose to rent a bike through the app, your payment will activate the bike, making
it rideable. Without payment or a membership, the bikes don’t work.
Bike Share ICT is made possible by sponsorship from Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the
Wichita Community Foundation and other community partners.