Borrow Our Bikes: What's the Trend

by Patrick Kirchner

Submitted : Spring 2013

The purpose of this project is to investigate the number of bikes checked out per week from USF Outdoor Recreation’s Borrow Our Bikes program. The project will determine the rate of change in the number of bikes checked out per week. By plotting the number of bikes checked out on a graph and by using calculus and simple algebra it is possible to determine the rate of change from week to week. This rate can be represented in the form of a line of best fit for the graph of bikes checked out per week. After using calculus the line of best fit was found. The line shows that over the ten weeks data was collected from that the number of bikes checked out decreases by about 5 bikes per week.

Using this data, Outdoor Recreation employees can try to figure out why the number of bikes is declining over ten weeks of the semester and can come up with solutions to keep a constant number of bikes checked out per week. This is important because the popularity and success of the program will determine how much funding the Borrow Our Bikes program will receive in the following semesters.

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