According to a statement posted by the Department of Facilities & Services on Thursday, the University will pilot a program evaluating the use of motorized bicycles on campus alongside corporate partner Veo over the summer of 2023. 

Since 2019, Veo has offered rentable “Veoride” bikes and scooters on the University’s campus and across Champaign-Urbana, introducing an alternate mode of transportation for students not wishing to take a bus, walk or drive.

According to the statement, the University’s goal in establishing this partnership is to bring bike sharing to the campus community and determine the regulations necessary to make usage of the bikes safe.

“Improving mobility options for students, faculty, and staff continues to be one of the University’s top transportation priorities,” the statement said. “The pilot is the latest example of collaborative efforts to offer greater bike sharing availability and flexibility while maintaining the highest safety standards throughout the U of I’s jurisdictional locations.”

“Geofencing restrictions” will be used by the University in order to regulate usage of the bikes, the statement said. According to Google, Geofencing is a practice that uses GPS to change the ways that devices or software behave within certain established boundaries.

The statement said Geofencing would be utilized to enforce various “no-ride zones,” which included all established quads on campus, as well as the trails of the University of Illinois Arboretum. 

The bikes are additionally not allowed to be used on campus sidewalks and “multi-use shared paths,” the statement said.

Upon the program’s end on Aug. 7, the statement said the status of the service would be reviewed using “ridership data and community feedback.” This will allow the University to adjust rules for using the bikes during the fall semester as needed.

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