Kent State's Campus Bus Service is bringing the bike racks back, giving bike enthusiasts a choice on how to ride ‹ by bike or by bus.

Campus Bus Service installed five bicycle racks on the front of five of their newest buses. These buses will service the West Main, South Water, Ravenna and North Kent routes during the summer to accommodate bike riders who want to use the bus.

Jim Soyars, assistant operations manager of Transportation Services, said the bike racks are installed on the front of the buses using a bracket and are very simple to use. The passengers will be responsible for putting their bikes on the rack, but if they have trouble, the bus driver will help.

The racks are used by following three steps: The first step is to pull the handle up to release and lower the rack; the second step is to place the front wheel of the bike into the correctly marked slot; and the third step is to pull the metal bar up and over the front wheel to secure the bike in place.

The bike racks are built to accommodate two bikes on the front of the bus. Soyars said a couple of bikes were borrowed from the Kent State Police Department to put on the racks.

"We are going to leave the bikes on the bus," Soyars said. "Sometimes people don't see the racks on the bus, so this might bring them to their attention."

Soyars said the bike racks are safe to use. The bike is locked securely into place preventing it from dragging or falling off the rack and causing damage to either the bike or the bus.

"No metal part of the rack touches the metal part of the bike," Soyars said. "It only touches the tire, preventing damage to the paint."

Campus Bus Service put the racks on the buses after spring break and will keep them on until November because "that's the prime time when people are on their bikes," Soyars said.

Tom Clapper, general manager of Transportation Services, said the decision to have bicycle racks was based on the observation that more students have bicycles. He said industry-wide information shows that bike racks are being used more frequently.

Clapper said Campus Bus Service is trying to bring different modes of transportation together by joining bike and bus riding.

"Our primary drive here, as is always our primary drive, is to provide better service to our university students as well as others in the community," Clapper said.

Campus Bus Service is going to try to get more bike racks on the buses. Clapper said depending on the bus service's budget, he would like to purchase at least five more racks this year.