Whether getting to and from or just around campus, Temple offers transportation methods that meet everyone’s needs — from shuttle buses to shared rides to biking.

Zimride

For Temple students, faculty and staff that are looking to share a ride, either as a provider or a passenger, there is Zimride, an online carpooling software that’s exclusive to Temple.

“Only people with a temple.edu e-mail address can register to use the service,” said Kathleen Grady, coordinator in Temple’s Office of Sustainability. “That’s one of the safety features, so you know whom you are sharing a ride with as opposed to finding a ride on Craig’s List.”

Those either looking for a ride or who can provide a ride can go online and create a user profile, which asks for such information as your name, gender, music preferences, whether or not you smoke in the car, how much money you want if you are giving a ride to someone, how much money you are willing to give if you are getting a ride, etc.

Grady said users can create a commuting schedule and the software pairs you up with matches based on geography. The program is also flexible in that it allows for schedule changes since students’ class schedules tend to vary from day to day.

Grady said the program is also perfect for students looking for one-time rides, such as traveling home for the weekend or holidays, to the store for grocery shopping or even to an off-campus Temple athletic event such as an away football or basketball game.

Temple students, faculty and staff can find out more information or register at zimride.temple.edu.

Bike Temple
This year, Bike Temple, an initiative launched two years ago to promote a bike culture among students, faculty and staff, is placing its resources into safety education by increasing the number and places it offers bike safety classes to help riders negotiate riding in an urban environment. In previous years, these classes were held almost exclusively in residence halls and were primarily aimed at students who might not have been accustomed to riding their bikes in a busy urban environment.

The “Urban Riding Basics” course covers riding in an urban environment, signaling, anticipating traffic movements, observing traffic rules and caring for your bike. Students attending  one of the courses receive a biodegradable Bike Temple water bottle. Five courses are scheduled for the Health Sciences and Main campuses:

Health Science Campus

• Sept. 19, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Old Dental School, Timmons Lecture Room
• Sept. 20, 12-1 p.m.: Student Faculty Center, room ECR

Main Campus

• Sept. 21, 12-1 p.m.: Anderson Hall, Room 1221
• Sept. 27, 2-3 p.m.: Engineering and Architecture Building, Room 347
• Sept. 28, 12-12:45 p.m.: Fox School of Business, Room 238

The free bike lock program, which was initiated last year, is also continuing. Students who register their bikes with Campus Safety Services, 1101 W. Montgomery Ave., receive a voucher for a free Kryptonite bike lock which they can redeem at Breakaway Bikes.

Temple bike riders will also benefit from Philadelphia’s efforts to make bike transportation easier within the city as dedicated bike lanes have been extended northward toward Main Campus from center city.

For more information, visit www.bike-temple.org or blog.bicyclecoalition.org.

Shuttle Service

In addition to the Temple-run shuttle service that provides bus transportation between the Main and Ambler campuses, with stops at the Health Science Center on Broad Street, Temple also offers two services that provide transportation to the areas around the Main Campus — OWLoop and TUr Door. TUr Door, which operates daily between 5:30 p.m. and 6 a.m., will take students from the main shuttle terminal at 12th and Berks streets directly to their door if they live within the area bounded by Cumberland Street on the north, Girard Avenue on the south, 5th Street on the east and 20th Street on the west.

Coinciding with the beginning the fall semester, Temple is also releasing a new mobile app that will assist students in tracking the arrival times of the OWLoop. The new mobile app, which is a collaboration between Computer and Information Services and Facilities Management, was created in conjunction with a company called NextBus.

“Students will be able to see the progress of the OWLoop on their cell phones, their computers, through texts and other methods,” said Gerald Hinkle, executive director of Computer Services. “So rather than wait outside at night or in bad weather, they’ll be able to wait in the library or the TECH Center and check to see the status of the shuttle bus. It will tell them how many minutes until the next bus arrives.”

Hinkle said that the new app will be available with the TUmobile App v2.0, which will be released in early September. “We had gotten a lot of feedback from students on the initial TUmobile app saying they wished something like this tracking service had been available.

Students who don’t have an iPhone or smartphone will be able to track the OWLoop progress at the NEXTBus web site.

For more information on Temple shuttle services, visit the Office of Facilities Management web site.