While doing the familiar song-and-dance about private ownership and the tragedy of the commons in class Wednesday, one of my students gave a fabulous example. A student from India said that India (or at least some city or region) went from communal ownership of rickshaws to private ownership of rickshaws. Apparently when the rickshaws were collectively owned, the operators would skimp on maintenance and use inferior fuel. Policymakers realized that privatizing rickshaw ownership would create an incentive for the owner/operators to appropriately maintain them. Immediately after class I put Mr. Google to work looking for some documentation of the rickshaw story (not because I doubt the student's veracity but because I want to share the story with future classes) but came up empty. I'd be grateful for any reader suggestions.

Another student's example of the tragedy of the commons warmed my Berry Bike heart. She reported that Elon also has a problematic communal bicycle program. This time Mr. Google was useful in finding some background info (and some great photos!):

In a large heap on the outskirts of Elon’s Physical Plant lies a pile of the lost and forgotten, those that fought the good fight but spent their last days suffering through rugged use they just weren’t designed for. These are the bikes of Ride, Rack and Relax.

The bikes used for the Ride, Rack and Relax program, a school-sponsored initiative to provide students with access to bikes for cross-campus trips, have become the target of student misuse. In recent weeks, at least two bikes have been spotted and removed from the train tracks that run through campus. Another bike, according to Smith Jackson, dean of Student Life, was left mangled after being struck by a passing train. While no damage was done to the train, Jackson warns that similar incidents could have catastrophic results.