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RFID Motivates Schoolkids to Bike It
According to Nagler, parents have not presented any objections to the system based on privacy concerns, though this could be because he stores as little personally identifying information about the children as possible. What's more, since it's an opt-in system, any parent concerned that it could be abused by someone intent on tracking their children, or for some other nefarious intent, could simply choose not to take part.
Outside of some financial support from Safe Routes, a program of the National Center for Safe Routes to School, Freiker has otherwise had to rely on donations from parents and Boulder-area businesses to keep the wheels turning. But thanks to Trek's funding, Freiker is growing, with new schools enrolled in Madison, Wis., (near Trek's headquarters) and in Eugene, Ore. This year, Nagler hopes to install the system at as many as 20 schools around the United States.
Rebecca Anderson, Trek's director of advocacy, says she was very impressed after seeing the Freiker system in action. "It was a cold morning with a dusting of fresh snow," she recalls. "I saw at least 50 bikes in the racks, and little kids streaming in on their bikes. Over in the drop-off zone, I saw one car dropping off a child. It was lovely to see, having witnessed so many traffic jam-ups in front of local schools."
Freiker, Anderson says, is right in line with 1 World 2 Wheels' goal of getting more people to make daily trips by bike, rather than driving. In locations where "riding [to school] is a safe alternative, let's do what we can to change behavior," she says, adding that Trek donated its support to "expand the impact of Freiker beyond Boulder."
The funds Trek donated came from a portion of its proceeds from sales of the company's helmets and mountain bikes. In fact, Anderson says, the Freiker donation is likely to grow beyond the pledged $25,000, since 130 Trek dealers have agreed to begin matching the proceeds and contributing to the Freiker pledge fund as well.
Although the prizes children can win add a hefty dose of incentive, Nagler says the participating kids often get more caught up in tracking their trip logs on Freiker's Web site. "The iPod has been an incredible extrinsic motivator," he says. "But parents have told us that as their children have ridden every day to school, at some point they actually forgot about the iPods."
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Outside of some financial support from Safe Routes, a program of the National Center for Safe Routes to School, Freiker has otherwise had to rely on donations from parents and Boulder-area businesses to keep the wheels turning. But thanks to Trek's funding, Freiker is growing, with new schools enrolled in Madison, Wis., (near Trek's headquarters) and in Eugene, Ore. This year, Nagler hopes to install the system at as many as 20 schools around the United States.
Rebecca Anderson, Trek's director of advocacy, says she was very impressed after seeing the Freiker system in action. "It was a cold morning with a dusting of fresh snow," she recalls. "I saw at least 50 bikes in the racks, and little kids streaming in on their bikes. Over in the drop-off zone, I saw one car dropping off a child. It was lovely to see, having witnessed so many traffic jam-ups in front of local schools."
Freiker, Anderson says, is right in line with 1 World 2 Wheels' goal of getting more people to make daily trips by bike, rather than driving. In locations where "riding [to school] is a safe alternative, let's do what we can to change behavior," she says, adding that Trek donated its support to "expand the impact of Freiker beyond Boulder."
Although the prizes children can win add a hefty dose of incentive, Nagler says the participating kids often get more caught up in tracking their trip logs on Freiker's Web site. "The iPod has been an incredible extrinsic motivator," he says. "But parents have told us that as their children have ridden every day to school, at some point they actually forgot about the iPods."
