University of Idaho’s rapidly fading dream of a bike-share program is headlining this week’s Argonaut — and it’s not the first time an update has graced our paper.
Two prior Argonaut articles, one published last fall and the other this spring, expanded on the ambitious Gotcha Mobility Bike program.
Both helped detail the partnership between the City of Moscow, Associated Students of the University of Idaho (ASUI), UI’s Parking and Transportation Services (PTS) and the company Gotcha.
Both also outlined delays, scheduled rollouts and hopes which continued to fade away.
Months later, nothing has changed.
Moscow still relies almost solely on SMART Transit as its primary local public transportation option. Those with bikes still rule the road. Those without are a different story.
Another delay — this time due to tariffs on China that resulted in increased production costs — means Gotcha simply cannot afford certain project financing all at once. UI falls under one of these particular projects.
Only one thing is for certain: we’ll have another story in spring.
The university had opportunities to address these delays or even shift gears entirely.
The first delay came after the company Spin ditched its bike-share program to use electric scooters.
In theory, a reasonable change.
But apparently Moscow is nowhere near ready for this dramatic shift and lacks the necessary regulations.
In particular, addressing the age-old question of where scooters should be ridden and whether or not helmets are required seem to be impossible tasks.
Interestingly enough, we seem to find ourselves still asking similar questions of everyday Moscow cyclists.
Can they turn here? Can they really just run that red light and then move to the sidewalk? Why are they going 15 mph in the middle of the street? Why is no one wearing helmets?
Sure, scooters may be louder and faster. But when Idaho bike regulations are already confusing and lax enough, is it such a drastic proposition?
Since the tariffs, the university has made its stance clear — no other evaluations of other companies, only a doubled down commitment to Gotcha. That is a commitment any current student might not even be around to utilize, as the timeline is unclear.
If spring comes and there are no Gotcha bikes to be seen, the university needs to be transparent in its approach. Students have been promised time and time again. Another setback without a backup plan might crumble the already shaky goodwill between students and the administration.
ASUI President Jacob Lockhart, a fourth-year student, has helped work toward the Gotcha program for more than three years. Let’s at least have something, anything, to show for it by the time he graduates in spring.
— Editorial Board