Month: January 2025

Q&A With Allan Of Brandeis University

Posted on | by nybc

Author: Council Members Zoe

Meet Allan
We asked Allan what motivated him to start a Bicycle Library like the late DeisBikes project. He attributed it to riding a bicycle as a youth and experiencing how limited the bicycle infrastructure was on campus. All he wanted at first was just a few more bicycle racks to attend class. Then he started to dream bigger once he learned more about how DeisBikes used to operate. Now, he wants to leave Brandeis, but not before having established a bike library program, having that come to fruition would be a dream. He acknowledged this in addition to all of his other duties as a student, where reviving a program similar to the old DeisBikes would be a significant achievement for himself and Brandeis.

(Allan, a Brandeis student)

Determined to address these concerns, Allan plans to submit continue his work in the Spring of 2025. He also envisions an educational component to the program if time allows, offering common-knowledge bicycle safety tips for students with varying levels of experience. It’s also not unheard of for bicycle libraries or collegiate bicycle communities to share the same color scheme as the university, like Southwestern University out of Georgetown Texas does with their Pirate Bikes.

(Pirate Bikes – Photo credit of Peter Suciu with Bike Radar)

Drawing further inspiration from other bike-share programs with Tufts Bikes in Tufts University located near Boston, he hopes to see convenient bike racks at every building, a convenient technical way to checkout bicycles, and off-campus maps highlighting the best bike routes.

Q&A With Allan

1. What bicycle do you ride and what’s the name of it?
A: I ride two bikes. The bike I ride in Boston is the 2018 Giant Contend 3, which I used to commute to school daily last year.

2. What other forms of transportation do you use as a student when not riding a bicycle?
A: I like to use the Brandeis Shuttle, particularly to get into Boston and Cambridge on the weekends or into Waltham. I also use the commuter rail often and the MBTA bus to get outside of Waltham– Bus 70 is a life saver. Otherwise, I tend to walk around campus, and sometimes will use a ride-hailing service like Uber or Lyft.

3. How often do you ride as a student?
A: During the school year I like to ride around once a week on the weekend for anywhere from 30 to 120 mile rides, either solo or with a friend. This doesn’t include occasional races with Brandeis Club Cycling. I also participate in cross-training with running.

4. How can students or faculty that potentially see this help?
A: The goal is trying to get other campus bike shares in Boston together for community events, education bike workshops, and just larger thinking. However, any support is welcome. The best way to reach me is by sending me an email at alfeldman@brandeis.edu.

Student At Brandeis University Plans The Next Bicycle Library

Posted on | by nybc

Author: Council Members Zoe & Joshua

Highlight: Student At Brandeis University Plans The Next Bicycle Library

For some rejection is redirection. For Allan F., a soon-to-be senior at Brandeis University, it’s all about staying motivated through rejection. Fueled by passion and determination, Allan has always dreamed of participating in a more bicycle-friendly community. His desire stemmed from simply riding a bicycle when he was much younger, a hobby that followed him all the way to college at Brandeis University, a college located not too far from Boston Massachusetts.

The opportunity to make a difference came after Allan’s freshman year when he learned about DeisBikes through other students, a now-defunct bike-share program at Brandeis that once ran 15 years prior to 2024. DeisBikes allowed students to “check out” bicycles like library books and return them after a set time. Seeing this as his way to create a more bicycle-friendly campus, Allan planned to revive the program to create a campus where students could easily commute, explore local trails, and embrace a more sustainable lifestyle.

 

Highlight: A Library Of Bicycles

Unfortunately, DeisBikes had been discontinued when its founding members graduated, leaving no structure for continuity. Allan had a reputation for being the “the guy who bikes,” so he quickly found a way to get in contact with the founders of DeisBikes to understand their challenges. Their insights pointed to a critical issue: sustainability. This was an opportunity for the school and Allan to renew the program and increase student and faculty biking overall.

Bicycles at Brandeis – Photo credit of Lin Lin Hutchinson from The Justice

Bicycle Library Challenges For Brandeis

The biggest hurdle for Allan was figuring out how to structure a program that wouldn’t collapse when students graduated. This was fate of DeisBikes, which had 4 super dedicated students back in the day. Adding to the challenge, Brandeis’s sustainability office was defunded last year, leaving Allan without institutional support.

During his junior year, Allan surveyed 300 of Brandeis’s 5,000 students. The results were overwhelmingly positive: 91% of respondents supported a bike-share, with 51% saying they’d use it daily. The survey energized Allan, who began envisioning a team of students from multiple class years to ensure long-term commitment.

Another motivator for Allan is Mo, a Brandeis alum, who has done very similar work on campus before involving sustainability innovations. Mo Re Kim ’24 has been instrumental in helping Allan think through the structure of the program and provide previous Brandeis knowledge for future conversations with its Department of Transportation.

With the newfound momentum Allan submitted a proposal to the university, encouraging the use of a Bike share, bicycle library project: Brandeis Bikes. After much discussion and a bit of waiting, the university rejected the proposal.

Setting A New Vision For DeisBikes

Allan admits the rejection was tough but says it provided clarity. “It showed me where the gaps were and how to strengthen the proposal,” he explains. Feedback from the university highlighted the need for him to have specific storage solutions for the bikes and designated roles for short-term and long-term program management. It will also consider a new location for the bicycle system, “by the gym [instead of] the library” he mentioned.

Allan, a Brandeis student

Drawing further inspiration from other bike-share programs such as Tufts Bikes in Tufts University located near Boston, he hopes to see convenient bike racks at every building, a convenient technical way to checkout bicycles, and campus maps highlighting the best bike routes.

Allan has learned that to create change, it requires collaboration, bringing people together and not having them work alone. “This is just a small obstacle we’ll overcome,” Allan says confidently while also giving thanks “to the continual support of MassBike and the Bike Together Waltham community”. With the second semester ahead, he’s committed to making the Bicycle Library a reality at Brandeis. Allan is calling on his fellow students to help with getting the word out, map-making, and maintenance. Allan can be reached at alfeldman@brandeis.edu.