Transportation Services said students should not to leave bicycles on campus during the summer break to save the trouble of having to remove them.
“If you have a bike parked anywhere on campus take it home with you before you leave for the break,” said Rodney Weis, executive director of Transportation Services. “If you never use your bike, take it and donate it to a worthy charity so we don’t have to expend resources removing it for you”.
Transportation Services personnel will begin removing bikes, locks, wheels and other parts that seem to be abandoned May 18 and continue until all bikes have been removed.
“The only way to ensure your bike is not removed is by taking it home,” Weis said. It also applies to students staying for the first summer session.
Bicycles left on campus will be taken and held for a certain period of time before they are sold in an online auction through Logistic Services.
People wanting to reclaim a bike before it is auctioned can do so by going to the Transit Services Web site and making an appointment to see if the bike was picked up by personnel.
“It is important to note though that any individual looking to reclaim their bike must do so us ing [this] process,” said Andrew Mitchell, the director of logistics.
Although the problem of bike abandonment has remained steady over the years, at approximately 1,000 to 1,200 bikes a year, another problem has escalated: people taking bikes because they thought they were abandoned.
“It is important for our community to understand that they cannot remove property from Texas A&M without authorization,” said Elmer Schneider, chief of the University Police Department.
Schneider said students should know that taking property that originally did not belong to them is considered theft and that the students can be prosecuted for the act. Only the owner and authorized personnel can remove the bike.
Weis said students should understand that taking bicycles home allows Transportation Services to do their job and will allow more room to be made for students that need bikes on a daily basis.