Bikeshare
Recycle a Bicycle!
The UofL Sustainability Council invests in restoring and maintaining bicycles that have been abandoned on campus so that you can use them to get around for free! UofL's Free Bikeshare Program is designed to help you ditch the car or the fossil-fuel powered electric scooter and discover the joys and health benefits of getting around under your own power! The program is open to all UofL students, faculty, and staff. Bikes are available whenever you need them and for whatever purpose, whether it's getting across campus, across town, or just out for some fun!
Free Daily Bike Check-out at the SRC
Use your UofL ID to check out a bike, lock, and helmet for free for the day! Some bikes have baskets for carrying items. Bikes are available each day on a first-come, first-served basis from the front desk staff at the Student Rec Center on 4th Street. Bikes must be returned before the SRC closes for the day.
Longer-Term Bike Loan
A limited number of restored bicycles are also available to students, faculty, and staff who wish to borrow a bike and lock for the semester (or longer, if your are an employee that would like to use a bicycle instead of a motorized vehicle to do your job done on campus). Apply below.
In all cases, whether you are checking out a bike for the day or longer, you must sign a waiver form and those who check out bikes are responsible for any theft/loss/damage, so be sure to use the u-lock to securely lock the bike (frame and wheel!) any time you park it.
If you notice maintenance needs on a UofL bikeshare bike or fixit station, or if you'd like to donate a bike to the program, please contact our Bike Mechanic Intern, Jonah Hermes (859-496-9815).
LouVelo city-wide bikeshare at UofL!
LouVelo Citywide BikeShare offers UofL Discounts!
Register with your @louisville.edu address for $10 off monthly memberships! Learn how it works at LouVelo.com & try out the system with stations at Belknap & HSC! For just $15/mo you get unlimited 1-hour rides on 300+ bikes.
Learn More
LouVelo Bike Share now available at BAB with new connections to Bardstown Road and Logan Street Market (Jan. 2021)
LouVelo expands across UofL campus (March 2019)
• UofL is a partner in Louisville Metro's dock-based bike share system, LouVelo. The system first launched in May 2017 with over 300 bikes and just 27 stations in our urban core. In 2019, the system expanded to 37 stations with new locations in southern Indiana and across Belknap campus.
• UofL stations include:
Belknap campus:
1. Belknap Academic Building (BAB) / SAC West / Houchens
2. Speed School of Engineering (Ernst Hall on Eastern Pkwy)
3. Freedom Park near The Ville Grill (3rd & Brandeis)
4. The Bellamy affiliated housing (Shipp Ave & 7th)
5. 4th & Gaulbert (near The Tavern)
Health Sciences Center:
1. Floyd St. & Broadway
2. Liberty & Hancock
• Register with your @louisville.edu address for $10 off monthly memberships! For just $15/mo you get unlimited 1-hour rides on 300+ bikes.
• With 37 stations across Louisville, finding a LouVelo station is quick and easy. Once signed up, you can easily check out a bike and return to any station within the system.
• LouVelo members can access any of the 300+ bikes though a station kiosk, a smart phone or with their membership card. The free Transit App also allows users to locate bike share stations and buy bike share passes using their mobile device.
• The first hour of use is completely free for members, with usage fees only applied to those checking out a bike for over an hour. You may check a bike into any docking station at any time to restart the clock.
• LouVelo bikes feature an upright riding position, fenders, and a comfort saddle. Anyone can jump on a LouVelo bike and easily pedal across town.
• Checking out a bike is quick and easy, and returning it is as simple as parking the bike in the dock.
Where to Check-Out, Fix-up, and Park Bikes
View an interactive Bike Map for all three UofL campuses showing where to find bike parking, fix-it stations, and bikeshare check-out locations! Here's what you'll see:
- RED icons = COVERED bike parking.
- BLUE icons = exposed bike parking.
- YELLOW Wrench icons = Bike Fix-It stations with tools and pump.
- GREEN Bike icons = Bike-Share locations from which bikes can be checked-out free for the day with UofL ID.
Avoid Traffic! Map A Safe, Comfortable Route
Explore bike routes & all your other options when biking won't work at directions.louisville.edu
- Find bike lanes, paths, and safer routes throughout Louisville with the new mobile-friendly Louisville Bike Map. It’s designed to be easy to use while you’re out riding in the city. Just tap the “My Location” button to find the bike routes nearest you.
- Cardinal Directions will help you find safer bike routes; estimate trip distances & times, as well as the calories you'll burn and carbon emissions and money you'll save; and explore all your other options when biking won't work.
History of UofL Free Bikeshare
Bike share program is expanding (UofL Today, 4/21/15)
Can bike share change the shape of Louisville? (Insider Louisville, 3/6/17)
Campus Sustainability Spotlight: Louisville BikeShare Program (The Fill, 5/5/17)
Free Bikeshare began at UofL in 2009 with daily check-out from three residence halls: Kurz, Bettie Johnson, and Community Park. In 2012, the UofL Sustainability Council decided to use part of the new annual Climate Action Plan implementation funding to expand on-campus bikesharing and worked to supply restored bikes to any campus partner that had a front desk staff to manage the check-out process and secure, covered storage space for bikes. It began with a small fleet of five bikes at the former SAC Gym (which moved to the SRC when that facility opened) and eventually expanded to include 11 different check out locations, including the former Get Healthy Now Wellness Center and all nine on-campus residence halls: Bettie Johnson Hall; Community Park; Kurz Hall; Louisville Hall; Miller Hall; Threlkeld Hall; Unitas Tower; University Tower Apartments (UTA); and the Medical-Dental Apartments at HSC downtown. In the summer of 2019, when the Wellness Center closed and priorities changed at Campus Housing, the system shifted from decentralized daily bike check-outs to longer-term bike loans.