Transportation Partners with The Pack Essentials Program to Provide Bikes to Students

The Transportation Department is excited to announce a partnership with The Pack Essentials program. This initiative will support our campus community by providing another means of transportation to those who qualify.

The department will donate abandoned bikes collected by bike enforcement to The Pack Essentials program. They are cleaned and checked to ensure they are road-ready before being given to anyone. Pack Essentials is using its application and eligibility process to identify recipients.

Transportation will also pre-register the donated bikes for the recipients before delivery. This streamlined process ensures that students can easily assume ownership of the bikes, resulting in a hassle-free experience.

The goal for the pilot year is to donate 12 bikes, with the plan of growing the program to benefit more students. Initially, the bikes were going to be donated to local organizations. Upon further research, it became clear that our campus community presented a variety of needs to address more directly and pointed to Pack Essential for assistance.

After meeting with Michael Giancola, Assistant Vice Chancellor and Student Ombuds, and Coordinator of Pack Essentials, it was clear that this partnership is a perfect opportunity to assist students and individuals in need with another transportation option. The Office of Financial Aid confirmed that if a student on financial aid were to receive a bike, it would not interfere with their financial aid package.

The first donation, named the “Holiday Donation,” happened on December 5 for four bikes, and bike enforcement is committed to donating three bikes per quarter in the coming year.

Transportation is excited about the positive change this partnership will bring to the campus community and is eager to witness its growth and impact in the future.