{"77641":{"#nid":"77641","#data":{"type":"news","title":"viaCycle Now Widely Available to Campus","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAfter months of soldering metal, assembling parts and testing technology, a bike share program developed right on Tech\u2019s campus is now open to all students, faculty and staff for use.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EviaCycle, a startup created by Tech alumni, began testing its program on campus this summer and officially launched its fleet of 10 bicycles in November. The system is the first of its kind in the southeast and is designed to make bikes available for communal use. A viaCycle bike can be locked at any bike rack while the user has it checked out, and then can be returned and checked in at a number of specified racks on campus. Since the launch, viaCycle has doubled its fleet to 20 bicycles, garnered more than 200 users and plans to add an additional 1\u0026shy;\u0026shy;\u20132 pick-up and drop-off stations on campus due to demand.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnyone with a valid BuzzCard can begin using the system by first signing up at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/gt.viacycle.com\u0022\u003Egt.viacycle.com\u003C\/a\u003E, then using a cell phone to unlock any bike not currently in use. Users are not required to have a smart phone, as a text message or phone call unlocks and locks the bicycles.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJonathan Murphy, a graduate student in aerospace engineering and mechanical chair for Starter Bikes, tested viaCycle during its trial period. Murphy used a bike for a trip to Kroger on Ponce de Leon Avenue, with the whole trip taking him just under an hour.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI see a lot of people coming to Starter Bikes who could definitely use the system \u2014 international students who are only here briefly, or people interested in buying a bike but wanting to try it out first,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cI\u2019m happy to see [viaCycle] here and see the program running.\u201d viaCycle bikes have a wide seat and give the passenger an upright position \u2013 one Murphy felt made for a comfortable ride.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EviaCycle worked with Georgia Tech Parking and Transportation Services and the City of Atlanta\u2019s Office of Sustainability in preparing for its debut; Georgia Tech President G.P. \u201cBud\u201d Peterson and Atlanta City Council members Keisha Bottoms and Aaron Watson spoke at the launch event in November.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EviaCycle is free to join and, for a limited time, is giving new users $20 in credit when they sign up. The cost of each use is based on the amount of time a bike is checked out. For those new to city cycling, viaCycle provides a number of resources on its website, including safety tips, bike route maps and how to inspect a bike upon checkout.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe system is the first of its kind in the southeast and makes bikes available for communal use.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The system is the first of its kind in the southeast and makes bikes available for communal use."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2012-01-11 16:13:20","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:10:53","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-01-11T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2012-01-11T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"73624":{"id":"73624","type":"image","title":"viaCycle Now Available to All of Campus","body":null,"created":"1449178002","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:26:42","changed":"1475894395","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:39:55","alt":"viaCycle Now Available to All of Campus","file":{"fid":"192315","name":"img_6741_sm1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_6741_sm1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_6741_sm1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":269874,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/img_6741_sm1_0.jpg?itok=PTwjP_Qz"}},"73623":{"id":"73623","type":"image","title":"viaCycle Now Available to All of Campus","body":null,"created":"1449178002","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:26:42","changed":"1475894398","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:39:58","alt":"viaCycle Now Available to All of Campus","file":{"fid":"192316","name":"img_6728_sm1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_6728_sm1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_6728_sm1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":127113,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/img_6728_sm1_0.jpg?itok=aG6YLmjP"}}},"media_ids":["73624","73623"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/gt.viacycle.com\/","title":"viaCycle at Georgia Tech"},{"url":"http:\/\/pts.gatech.edu\/","title":"Parking and Transportation Services"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"181","name":"alternative transportation"},{"id":"13455","name":"bike sharing"},{"id":"479","name":"Green Buzz"},{"id":"8922","name":"viaCycle"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:kyle@viacycle.com\u0022\u003EKyle Azevedo\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003EviaCycle\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:kristen.shaw@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EKristen Shaw\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003ECommunications and Marketing\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}