Currently EE Biology department transportation needs are being met by vehicles in the EEBiology fleet, including a 2016 Ford C-max hybrid, a 2000 Ford Scion XB and various passenger vans that are sometimes used to transport as few as 1–4 individuals when other vehicles are not available. We estimate that the addition of e-bikes to the EEBiology fleet would dramatically decrease the current vehicle check-out demand for these short trips by at least 75%, possibly more. Funding of this project would result in a fuel expenditure reduction of at least 681 gallons of gasoline per year, based on EEBiology vehicle fuel use for short trips over 12 months (September 2018–August 2019). This fuel savings is equivalent to eliminating 5.83 tons of CO2 emissions annually. Additionally, a reduction of at least 3,884 miles traveled per year would greatly extend the working lives of existing EEBiology fleet vehicles, with corresponding service and replacement cost savings.

High quality e-bikes typically cost anywhere between $2,000–$10,000. After thorough research, we have identified two companies that produce quality e-bikes with total costs per unit in the $2,000 range (including accessories, bike locks and California Sales Tax). These highly rated companies are Rad Power Bikes (https://www.radpowerbikes.com/) and Juiced Bikes (https://www.juicedbikes.com/). Somewhat cheaper e-bikes are available, but these are characterized by weaker construction, poor-quality drivetrains, shoddy components and less powerful, low wattage electric motors (i.e., < 750W). The latter are insufficient for repeated trips up the steep hills leading to Main Campus (i.e., Western Drive and Bay Street). Because Rad Power Bikes and Juiced Bikes are located on the west coast, purchases from these companies would be locally sourced and support fair trade and fair labor practices.

EEBiology e-bikes would be managed and maintained by the Biology Teaching Laboratories, and housed at the Coastal Biology Building (CBB). Student workers would be instrumental in the charging, upkeep and maintenance of EEBiology e-bikes, and graduate students would have access to their use, along with faculty, staff, visiting researchers and post-doctoral scholars. The success of this project would be widely shared throughout the UCSC and Santa Cruz communities via personal communications, emails and fliers. Such advertisement would encourage additional departments and other entities to incorporate e-bikes into their fleets, and thereby promote further reductions in the collective carbon footprint of the UCSC community.

We have spoken with Dan Henderson, Director of Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) at UCSC, regarding the possibility of Jump bikes at CSC. Currently, UCSC is in negotiations with Uber Technologies, of which Jump is a subsidiary, but there is no guarantee that we will see these bikes on UCSC main campus or at CSC any time soon. Furthermore, Jump bikes have only 250W motors (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jump_Bikes), smaller batteries, and therefore insufficient power and questionable reliability for ascending the aforementioned hills between CSC to UCSC Main Campus. This fact is underlined by the frequent occurrence of discarded Jump bikes, seen along Western Drive and Bay Streets every week. In addition to this lack of reliability, it is likely that EEBiology users will simply not use Jump bikes that require extra technological steps to reserve, and extra payment, when they have access to departmental vehicles at no individual cost.