Bicycle Friendly University

What Are the 5 Es?

Applicant colleges and universities are judged in five categories often referred to as the Five Es. These are Engineering, Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, and Evaluation & Planning. A college or university must demonstrate achievements in each of the five categories in order to be considered for an award on the Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum level. Institutions with more significant achievements in these areas receive higher awards. The BFU application is a great self-assessment tool, as schools see where they are lacking in each of these categories.

ENGINEERING

Colleges and Universities are asked about what is on the ground; what has been built to promote cycling on campus and in the surrounding community. For example, questions in this category inquire about the adoption of a complete streets policy, training for engineers and planners, and the existence of both well-designed bike lanes and innovative techniques for bicycle accommodation. Reviewers also look at the availability of secure bike parking and the existence of end of trip facilities.

EDUCATION

The questions in this category are designed to determine the amount of education there is available for both cyclists and motorists. Education includes teaching cyclists how to ride safely in any area from multi-use paths to congested city streets as well as teaching motorists how to share the road safely with cyclists. Some things that reviewers look at are the availability of cycling education, the number of League Cycling Instructors that are part of the college/ university and in the community, related course and physical education offerings, and other ways that safety information is distributed to both cyclists and motorists on campus including bike maps, new student packets, and the school newspaper.

ENCOURAGEMENT

This category concentrates on how the college/ university promotes and encourages bicycling. This can be done through organized campus rides as well as producing campus bike maps, signature cycling events, bicycle commuting incentive programs, and a bike share system.  In addition, some questions focus on other things that have been built to promote cycling or a cycling culture such as a campus bike center, a BMX track and the existence of both road and mountain bicycling clubs.

ENFORCEMENT

The enforcement category contains questions that measure the connections between the cycling and law enforcement communities. Questions address whether or not the law enforcement community has a liaison with the student/ staff cycling community, if there are efforts to prevent bicycle theft, if there are bicycle divisions of the law enforcement or public safety communities, if the campus sponsors targeted enforcement campaigns to encourage cyclists and motorists to share the road safely, and the existence of bicycling related laws such as those requiring helmet or the use of sidepaths.

EVALUATION & PLANNING

Here the college or university is judged on the systems that they have in place to evaluate current programs and plans for the future. Questions are focused on measuring the amount of cycling taking place on campus, the crash and fatality rates, and ways that the college or university works to improve these numbers. Institutions are asked about whether or not they have a bike plan, how much of it has been implemented and what the next steps for improvement are.