NEWS RELEASE

NEW YORK, NY – With the number of cycling commuters exploding across New York City, the NYU Office of Sustainability is rolling out a new, transformative phase of cycling, addressing embodied energy and cycle parking availability as well as air quality and greenhouse gas emissions.

“Beginning April 1, 2021, the Office of Sustainability suggests that all cycle traffic to and around campus solely utilize unicycles,” said Office of Sustainability Interplanetary Transportation Coordinator Cy Kull in a statement. “With this measure, we are truly doubling down – or should I say, halving down – our commitment to clean transportation.”

By promoting unicycles, NYU will with a single pedal stroke double the amount of cycle parking available on campus, as two unicycles can fit in the place of a single, now-obsolete bicycle. In addition, unicycles take just half of the materials and energy to manufacture, reducing their “built-in” or “embodied” emissions associated with creating them. They are also easier to carry up steps or onto the subway or bus for a true, multi-modal solution.

“We’re not clowning around! As NYU rolls on with its cycling efforts, we think this is one solution to peddle that will really crank up our audience,” said Kull. “It will unify everybody as we come up with ‘wheel’ answers to tough sustainability questions. And I do mean everyone – accessibility is a core principle of NYU, and all should be able to be involved, even if riding a unicycle is not appropriate for them. That’s why we’ll be providing single-wheel recumbent bikes and wheelchairs upon request.”

“We think people will learn to love this new way of getting around,” said Kull, from his hospital bed where he was healing from a broken elbow, shoulder, and hip. “Eventually.”