Bike Share Scheme

Monash students have designed and built a prototype bicycle which is set to become the iconic centrepiece of the university's bike sharing initiative.

The "Uni-cycle" was built from recycled plastic and has been designed with innovative features including a gas lift seat, photosensitive lights and a drive shaft instead of the traditional oily chain.

It could be on the road within the next two years thanks to money being provided by Facilities and Services Office of Environmental Sustainability.

The industrial design students from the Art and Design Faculty at the university's Caulfield campus have also come up with prototypes for a vandal proof docking station, tubular steel shelters and a state-of-the-art helmet.

The Uni-cycle and the supporting projects in the initiative were given the go ahead by Paul Barton, Director of the Office of Environmental Sustainability and the Office's Transport Coordinator James Gormley.

Mr Barton said: "It has been an absolutely fantastic effort by all the students and the end results have been far better than we expected."

The students were guided throughout the design process by industrial design lecturer Mark Richardson.

He said: "I think, for the students, it has been fantastic because they have been able to see real outcomes. Often the projects we do are quite pretend. This project is working towards a real goal.

"As a lecturer it has been extremely gratifying in terms of the enthusiasm from the students. I have never seen such enthusiasm from students as I witnessed on this project."

The next phase of the Uni-cycle project will involve students preparing for the mass production of the machines.

While the bike prototype was being built other students from the faculty were hard at work putting together the Monash "Hack-Bike System" which, it is hoped, will pave the way for the Uni-cycle project.

This has involved gathering together old and broken bikes and using the parts to create new machines.

In all the students will produce 70 green machines which will be used to trial the bike share scheme, starting at the Clayton campus from the beginning of Orientation Week next year.

Mr Barton said: "We will test the system on students using these inexpensive machines and if successful we will then bring in the iconic bike system."