This article was authored by Kurt Bedell of Portland State University Media and Public Relations, and cross-posted from Portland State University News.

Portland State University students may now ride Portland’s iconic bright orange BIKETOWN bikes for free.

Thanks to a new agreement between PSU and BIKETOWN, Portland’s bike share program, current Portland State students may now ride any available BIKETOWN bike up to 90-minutes per day at no cost by signing up for a student membership online.

BIKETOWN is Portland’s city-owned bike share program, which provides 1,000 shared bikes at over 100 stations across downtown and several neighborhoods. The PSU campus is now considered a Super Hub Zone, which means that BIKETOWN bikes may be parked in any public bike rack on the PSU campus without penalty. Previously BIKETOWN bikes could only be parked and locked in BIKETOWN stations and other designated areas or riders would incur a $2 penalty.

“Portland State is already among the top five most bicycle-friendly colleges and universities in the nation,” said Clint Culpepper, PSU’s transportation options manager. “With eligible free BIKETOWN rides, now our students will have even more ways to bike from home to campus, around the city or on other short, one-way trips around Portland.”

Previously, students could purchase a discounted student membership for $5 a month with an annual commitment. Now the student membership will be free to all verified, current PSU students.

To qualify for their free student membership, PSU students should visit the BIKETOWN at PSU website and register using their pdx.edu email address. Once student status has been verified, a free student membership will be approved and activated. Existing student BIKETOWN users will have their memberships automatically moved over to a free student membership.

"An urban, commuter campus like PSU is perfect for bike share,” said Tom Rousculp, marketing manager for BIKETOWN and a PSU alum. “Connecting students to neighborhoods, campuses and the city BIKETOWN is an easy and convenient alternative to driving. And now it's free to PSU students too.”

BIKETOWN at PSU is a program of Transportation and Parking Services, an administrative unit of the university that uses parking fees and program revenue to cover transportation program costs. No student tuition dollars are used to fund Transportation and Parking Services programs. BIKETOWN is a program of the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), steward of Portland’s transportation system.