Over 2,000 abandoned bikes on TAMU campus local bike company has answers

From ABC40

By Omar Lewis

COLLEGE STATION- Millions of people ride bicycles everyday as an eco friendly form of transportation, but what happens when those bikes rust and break?

It took Texas A&M Transportation Services 6 days to pick up over 2000 bikes on campus left rusted and abandoned by their owners.

"We found a tremendous amount of bikes that were either so rusted they didn't work, had flat tires so they weren't usable either, so those were clearly abandoned," said Ron Steedly of Texas A&M Transportation Services.

The combination of rust, flat tires, and popped chains are all things Andre Denais of Maroon Bikes hates to see.

"Anything that's a form of transportation you want it to work all the time," said Denais "every time you get in your car you can basically expect it to start, and that is not the case with your average bike."

Denais says Maroon Bikes are far from average. These Aggie-designed bikes come with all the bells and whistles to provide bikers with a smooth, uninterrupted ride.

Special tires don't require owners to fill them with air and with no chains to rust or fall off, these vehicles make for an eco-friendly outing.

"Nothing rusts, nothing rots, nothing breaks ever to ensure 100 percent reliability," said Denais.

Riding bikes is a major source of transportation around the Texas A&M campus with over 8,000 bikes in use everyday, but when they break down students have a difficult time making it from their dorm room to their class on time.

The Maroon Bikes are able to be leased for around a dollar a day to students like Jose Frias who says having a reliable bike on campus is very important. "Whenever I'm riding my bike it cuts down on time by 10 minutes," said Frias "so if I'm running late if I ride my bike I get there on time."

Denais tells me cutting down on the amount of bikes that end up abandoned and trashed is his main goal.  Denais says "We build them here in Texas, they're designed by an Aggie, they're designed by you and me not somebody a hundred thousand miles away who has no idea what our needs are.  It's made to be the ultimate form of transportation around campus and around town."