September 6, 2016 — Dartmouth College and Zagster, Inc. today launched a new bike-share program that will provide everyone in the Dartmouth community with a convenient, affordable and healthy way to get around town. The program is a direct result of a strong student push to bring next-generation bike sharing to the college’s campus.

“For many people, a sharing program is perfect because it eliminates the need to bring a bike to campus, to store it and to maintain it,” says David Newlove, Dartmouth’s associate vice president for business and hospitality. “It’s pretty cool. You see a lot of cities and universities do this — Boston, Montreal, Princeton, Duke — so we’re doing it for Dartmouth, as well.”

Starting today, 50 cruiser bikes will be available at eight stations for all of Dartmouth’s students, staff, faculty and alumni, as well as the Town of Hanover’s residents and visitors, to use for on-demand, local trips. Riders join the program by signing up for annual or daily memberships. Rides for members — who must be 18 or older — are free for the first hour, and then three dollars per hour after that.

“As the leading provider of university bike shares, we’re thrilled to count yet another preeminent institution among our partners,” said Timothy Ericson, Zagster co-founder and CEO. “Dartmouth’s collaborative effort between administrators and students is a perfect example of how multiple stakeholders can come together to make campus bike sharing a reality.”

Zagster manages all aspects of its bike-share programs — from bikes and technology, to maintenance and fleet rebalancing. Riding Dartmouth’s bike share is easy. Bikes can be found via the free Zagster Mobile App — available for iPhone and Android — or online at zagster.com/Dartmouth. Each bike has a unique number which riders enter into the app to obtain a single-use code to open the lockbox on the back of the bike. (Alternatively, riders can obtain unlock codes via text message.) A key, stored inside and tethered to the lockbox, allows the bike to be locked and unlocked throughout a ride. After the rider returns the bike to a designated Zagster bike station, the rental ends and the bike is available for the next person to enjoy.