Ride green, ride easy, ride matie: Celebrating World Bicycle Day with Matie Bike
- Each year on 3 June, the United Nations marks World Bicycle Day, to recognise the bicycle as an accessible and sustainable form of transport that supports healthier communities and more liveable cities. This year’s theme, Cycling for a Greener Future, focuses on how cycling can make transport systems more sustainable around the world.
Stellenbosch University’s (SU’s) Transport Services Department continues to contribute to this global focus through the Matie Bike initiative, which supports everyday mobility for students and staff moving across the Stellenbosch campus.
The Matie Bike has become a familiar part of the campus landscape, offering students and staff a practical way to move between lectures, meetings and residences while reducing reliance on motorised transport for short trips – and simultaneously reduce emissions.
Having more bicycles on campus does more than merely offer convenience, it helps reduce traffic and congestion and encourages more active forms of transport in daily university life.
Cycling has, over the years, become a visible part of how the campus functions, with bikes often seen outside lecture venues, along key pedestrian routes, and between faculty buildings. It has always been an integral part of student life on SU’s campus. It is a small but consistent contribution to how people experience and move through campus every day.
The Transport Services Department, as part of the SU Commercial office (SUNCOM), continues to support this culture through managed rental services and the provision of bicycle-friendly infrastructure, including secure bicycle sheds at selected locations across the Stellenbosch campus.
Bicycle sheds are currently available at several campus buildings in Stellenbosch, including:
- The Arts and Social Science Building
- The Polymer Science Building
- The Theology Building
- The General Engineering Building
Students and staff with private bicycles can also request access to the bicycle sheds by registering their bicycles with the Transport Services team at transport at [email protected]
More information on Matie Bike rentals, bicycle registration, and access to bicycle storage facilities is available via the SU Transport Services website.
Beyond World Bicycle Day, the Transport Services Department encourages the return to something simple: movement that is efficient, low-impact, and part of everyday life.
Ride green. Ride easy. Ride a Matie Bike.