Bike Sharing Program in Kirksville, MO
submitted for funding to the
Foundation for Rural and Small Community Growth Grant Program
11/13/2019
Group Rosencrantz: Jacob Koebel, Joe Manganiello, Audrey Currey-G, and Emma Jameson
INTRODUCTION
- About Kirksville
Kirksville is a small, rural town located in Northeast Missouri. According to the United States Census Bureau, in 2018, Kirksville’s population was 17,566. The median household income is just over $27,000; this figure is considerably low when compared with the national average of $60,363. Kirksville is also home to Truman State University, Missouri’s only public liberal arts and sciences university, and A.T. Still University, the founding college of osteopathic medicine. Due to the overwhelming student population, the average age of Kirksville residents is 23. Just over thirty-four percent of Kirksville citizens live in poverty, with men and women 18-24 years old making up over 60% of the impoverished population.
- Transportation in Kirksville
Since our proposal targets transportation, it is necessary to take a deeper look into how people get around in Kirksville. Despite being home to many students during the school months, Kirksville has limited public transportation options. Currently, Kirksville has a public transportation service known as, Kirk-Tran. The shuttle system runs an hourly route around the city Monday through Saturday during typical business hours, but this service is limited. Kirksville also has Uber, and a cab company as well for public transportation, but even that is limited. It is very difficult to find an Uber ride and pretty often there are either no Uber drivers or at the very most two. The taxi service, called Jerry’s Taxi, is very limited only having one taxi and does not have any stars or reviews. There is also a cab company that only has two and a half stars and is limited to a few cabs that do not offer the best service. According to datausa.io, the average number of households that use public transit has dropped from about 100 households in 2013 to nearly zero in 2017. Not only has the public transit dropped, but the average number of households that use the taxi service has also dropped from about 50 households in 2013 to less than 10 households in 2017. The public transportation that is currently available to the residents of Kirksville is not easily accessible, or easy to use, which in turn makes their lives more difficult.
PROPOSAL
The Kirksville Business Club proposed the idea of adding a bike share program to benefit the citizens of Kirksville. A bike-sharing program would allow students and members of the community to rent bikes from stations in well-lit areas around town as well as on Truman’s campus any time, day or night. This program would be run through an app that allows users to rent and pay for their ride. Bikes will have GPS trackers to prevent theft. For safety purposes, all bikes will be equipped with a bell, reflective paneling, and a helmet. Bikes will also have easily adjustable seats, 21 speeds, and a large front-facing basket for the convenience of users. Users will be charged based on the time used, and charged upon return. To compensate for this lack of availability and accessibility, our proposed bike system would benefit both Kirksville’s students and community members.
LOGISTICS
Customers will be able to rent a bike from either an app or a website. If a customer prefers to have more features and more polished experience, there is an app for them. However, there will also be a website that they can sign into if they would need to for whatever reason. This would allow us to expand our service to people who don’t have phones because it would be possible to complete the rental process on a computer. In addition, having a website would be a good way to allow customers who don’t want to get another app on their phone to have access to the service. Both the website and the app would be essentially the same, but different enough to have advantages over another. (An example of this is YouTube. There is a desktop website, a mobile website and an app. All of the platforms do the same thing but slightly differently.)
BENEFITS
Having a bike rental system will benefit Kirksville by providing a new and friendly mode of transportation. Bikes are also environmentally safe and are a simple, easy mode of transportation. Bikes could be used by both students and community members, which in turn would integrate students into the community. Our proposed bike system would give community members who lack their own mode of transportation a viable and accessible method of transit. This bike-sharing system would also become lucrative with little cost to maintain. Riding a bike is an environmentally friendly mode of transportation that will appeal to users looking to lower their carbon footprint. One of Kirksville’s main attractions is Thousand Hills State Park. The Forest Lake Area Trail System (FLATS) members in Kirksville have spearheaded a project that will soon bring a four-mile paved trail system connecting Thousand Hills State Park and the City of Kirksville. This path will promote healthy living by providing a direct path between the park and the city making it easier for members of the community to access the park. Having a bike station around the city and at Thousand Hills will attract guests to the park and encourage them to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
CONCERNS
A bike-sharing system would introduce limited concerns, however, it is important to be aware of possible issues that may arise. The biggest concern of a bike-sharing program is that the users could be injured while riding our bikes. There is no simple solution to this problem, but there are a variety of methods that can be used to lessen the damage in the event that someone is hurt. First, before renting a bike, users will sign a waiver stating that they are responsible for their own injuries. Many other bike-sharing services use this method to ensure that they are not held responsible for something that isn’t their fault. Another concern with the system is theft. When renting a bike, users must give their names as well as other personal information. In the event of theft, this information would be given to the police to help them find whoever stole the bike. Also, the bikes have a GPS that can be used to track down stolen bikes. Overall, there are a variety of risks involved with starting a bike-sharing service, but the rules we have put in place will prevent the majority of the problems.
COSTS
According to our club’s research, starting up a bike-sharing system is doable under the proposed budget for a city the size of Kirksville. Each bike would cost about $150, including all the fixtures necessary. With each station would house 10 bikes, and would include necessary automatic electronic locking as well as lighting for safety. The cost of each station would be around $9,000 each, including installation, wireless connection to the app, as well as the software for the app itself. This projected cost is based on an estimate from the company On Bike-Sharing. On Bike-Sharing strives to provide companies, campuses, and cities with affordable and safe bike-sharing programs. This would allow for a start-up number of five stations plus $5,000 set aside for future maintenance costs, insurance, and any potential legal responsibility.
TIMELINE
Our club intends to have the system installed and fully functioning by the start of the fall 2020 semester. Our proposal would need to be approved by the Truman administration and the city of Kirksville before installation can begin. The bikes would be installed during the summer while many students are off-campus.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brown, D. (2018, April 9). A look at several trails in Kirksville, Adair County. Retrieved November 30, 2019, from https://www.kirksvilledailyexpress.com/news/20180409/look-at-several-trails-in-kirksville-adair-county.
“COMPLETE BIKE SHARE SYSTEMS.” On Bike Share – Official Site | Bike Share Systems,
Data USA: Kirksville, MO. (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2019, from https://datausa.io/profile/geo/kirksville-mo/.
Economy in Kirksville, Missouri. (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2019, from https://www.bestplaces.net/economy/city/missouri/kirksville.
Jaafari, J. D. (2017, September 28). Bike-Sharing Systems Cost Money, But Make Money Too. Retrieved November 14, 2019, from https://nationswell.com/how-to-set-up-bike-sharing-right/.