Jerry Grochow, vice president for Information Services and Technology (IS&T), took a celebratory lap on Oct. 17 around Building N42 using the department's new Haley urban cargo tricycle. While the trike may bring back visions of ice cream vendors cycling through neighborhoods, IS&T will use it to deliver laptops and other equipment around campus.
Grochow said that as a full participant in MIT's Walk the Talk Energy Task Force, IS&T wants to increase its energy efficiency and lessen its impact on the environment. The tricycle will help toward those aims.
"Staff in IS&T deliver computers, carry large tools to repair phone and network cables, and perform other tasks that require a vehicle," Grochow said. "Last year we purchased a hybrid van and this year we decided to invest in a human-powered vehicle."
The new tricycle lends itself well to MIT's campus, which is compact and urban, with lots of pavement and relatively short distances between buildings. The weather-proof trike has special alloy wheels so that it can be ridden in the rain. The attention-getting cargo box, painted apple green, is lined with extra padding.
IS&T's Ryan Flanagan, a consultant with the Departmental IT Resource (DITR) Team, will initially use the trike to deliver laptops for the student Laptop Loaner program. IS&T also plans to explore other ways to use the trike for on-campus deliveries.
In support of the IT Energy@MIT initiative, many IS&T staff put in time making the trike a reality--from those who worked on the custom order with Haley Tricycle Company to those who assembled it on its arrival.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on October 24, 2007 (download PDF).
