UT invited the media to view the nation’s first automated electric bicycle (e-bike) sharing system in September 2011, when the first of two charging stations began operating. The pilot program was the subject of a research study by Civil and Engineering Assistant Professor Chris Cherry and Stacy Worley and David Smith from biosystems engineering. The system had two bike sharing stations—one at Presidential Court and a second (solar) on the agriculture campus. The pilot project, a research initiative, was slated to run through spring semester 2013. The effort was funded by UT’s Student Sustainability Initiative; the Southeastern Transportation Center; the Tennessee Department of Transportation, with support from Currie Technologies; Fountain City Pedaler; UT’s Civil and Environmental Engineering Department; and the Biosystems Engineering and Soil Sciences Department.
Following the pilot project, the system was discontinued for lack of institutional funding.