Bike Temple is a university-wide program that promotes resources and access to a zero-emission mode of transportation.
Our primary goals include enabling more people to travel on bike, promoting safety and awareness, and building a supportive and sustainable bike culture for our students, faculty, and staff.
There are countless resources available to students, faculty and staff that are interested in biking. We hope you learn something new and are inspired to get on a bicycle after you peruse the sections below.
Bicycle Racks and Secure Bicycle Parking
Temple University boasts more than 2,000 bicycle parking spaces.
In addition to outdoor bicycle parking, there are two options for fully covered, locked bicycle parking on Main Campus.
- Engineering Building: There is fully covered, locked bicycle parking located behind the Engineering Building available to staff, faculty and students for $10 a semester. To gain access, you must go to the Parking Services Office located in the Montgomery Garage and make a payment. Once you do, you will be able to access the bicycle locker with your OwlCard.
- Residence Halls: All residence halls have an in-door bicycle storage room for student resident use.
Free U-Lock Program
Every semester, Campus Safety provides a free U-lock to the first 500 students to register their bicycles with the Temple Police. The U-Lock will be given when you bring your bike to a Campus Safety location for inspection by an officer.
Register your Bicycle with the Department of Public Safety
Students, staff and faculty can register their bicycles on campus
Just bring your bike to Police Headquarters at 1101 W. Montgomery Avenue and an officer will inspect your bike and place a sticker to the frame that corresponds to your file in the police database. This way, if your bicycle ever turns up without you on it, the police will be able to get in contact with you to return it. The information is also shared with the Philadelphia Police Department, in case your bike is found outside of the campus area.
Secondhand Bicycle Sales
Started in 2014, Secondhand Cycles is Bike Temple's bicycle surplus program.
Rather than watching the abandoned bicycles on campus be hauled off for scrap, the Secondhand Cycles program sorts through the bicycles to see which ones can be repaired to rideable condition once again.
These bicycles are then sold back to students for $100 or less at several sales events throughout the year. As of the fall of 2024, the Office of Sustainability works in partnership with the Division of Student Affairs to ensure that the Secondhand Cycles get to the students who want and need them the most through a selection process and subsidizing the cost of purchase.
The application is a holistic evaluation that takes into account demonstrated student need as well as engagement and participation in sustainable transportation initiatives on campus and allows interested students to rank the bikes available according to their need and interest. The link to the application form will be published here on the Office of Sustainability site ahead of the official sale dates.
More about the program:
Throughout the year, Campus Safety collects, removes and stores bicycles that have been locked illegally to ADA handrails, fire exits, and other important points of access. If a bicycle is registered through the TUPD's bike registration program, then the owner is contacted and reunited with their bicycle. Unregistered bicycles are tagged and held for 30 days.
Additionally, the Grounds Department monitors bicycles that are left on campus. Once a bicycle has been identified as "abandoned", usually through the occurrence of piece-by-piece theft, the bicycle is removed and held for a period of 30 days.
If the bicycles collected remain unclaimed after this period, they are released to the Office of Sustainability for use in the Secondhand Cycles program. These bicycles are then repaired and sold to Temple students at designated sales events through the year. Only current Temple students are eligible to purchase from Secondhand Cycles. This offer does not extend to faculty, staff or alumni.
Employee bike discount
Temple University offers a discount on bikes for all its employees. Save up to 30% on a new Breezer, Tuesday, or Fuji bicycle and green your commute. Ride to work and enjoy extraordinary benefits. Save money on parking or transit fares, reach your wellness goals with increased physical activity, and help save the planet by cutting emissions and improving local air quality. Visit this page for more information and instructions to claim your sustainable benefit today. This is an employee-only benefit. Students interested in purchasing a discounted bike should shop the Secondhand Cycles sale.
