Are there a couple, or quite a few, open on purpose slots at each station? I could see for example coming into okc early morning on the bus, a quick breakfast at Devon, take care of some DT business, then grab a bike at the library and just enjoy a short ride around DT, BT or MidT before returning to norman via the bus. I am not real clear though what one does if the library racks are all filled upon return. I suppose the only two options are wait and hope or ride station to station until an open rack is located.

Are there a couple, or quite a few, open on purpose slots at each station? I could see for example coming into okc early morning on the bus, a quick breakfast at Devon, take care of some DT business, then grab a bike at the library and just enjoy a short ride around DT, BT or MidT before returning to norman via the bus. I am not real clear though what one does if the library racks are all filled upon return. I suppose the only two options are wait and hope or ride station to station until an open rack is located.

There should be some open slots all around the system but where they are placed/quantity is something that will take some time to get right. Also since apparently not all the locations are open yet they may have put more bikes at each station than there will normally be which could be a detriment to the system. Special events may always be problematic since rarely can any system be planed for peak usage.

As others have said, it will take tweeking...just a matter of fine tuning the logisitics. Sort of like one-way U-Haul trucks ending up in certain popular locations

I have seen someone riding one almost everything I drive through downtown during the daytime. That is a good sign. Even bigger, I feel like these have gotten others who already own bikes to take them for a spin more often - lately I am seeing way more non Spokies bikes on the streets as well.

Just got back from Barcelona, I noticed they have a bike share program and it seems like everone was using them. People had those red and white bikes out everywhere we went.

RE the distribution, I have also noticed the Bricktown rack 100% full with no empty slots on more than one location, and noticed the one by the federal courthouse (Memorial) with only a single bike in it yesterday. Seems like perhaps people are grabbing them there and making their way to Midtown, Bricktown or other locations and then finding another form of transportation back? Interesting to contemplate the usage patterns and the reasons behind them.

I will say that it would be a major bummer to rent in one place anticipating you will be able to re-rack at your destination, and after peddling over there find out there was no option for turn-in. Especially if the use was between business appointments, for instance, rather than recreation.

On the other hand, I went by the downtown library yesterday and there was only 5 bikes in the whole rack...

Apparently someone decided to use one of the bikes for more than getting around downtown/midtown. We came out of the Academy store on 63rd & NW Expressway the other day to find two police cars/3 officers with a guy on the ground in cuffs. Next to them was one of the programs bikes with the baskets full of what looked like probably stolen merchandise. I would assume he had no intention of returning the bike either.

Apparently someone decided to use one of the bikes for more than getting around downtown/midtown. We came out of the Academy store on 63rd & NW Expressway the other day to find two police cars/3 officers with a guy on the ground in cuffs. Next to them was one of the programs bikes with the baskets full of what looked like probably stolen merchandise. I would assume he had no intention of returning the bike either.

I hope he didn't use a stolen credit card when he picked it up.

Just received this:


Dear Spokies member,

Thanks for being among the first to try out Oklahoma City’s first bike share program. Because of people like you, OKC is on track to becoming a greener, healthier, more progressive city. And that’s no small feat!

As many of you know from personal experience, it’s been a struggle getting the Spokies software to work seamlessly. Also, there have been several incidents of theft and vandalism. To correct these problems, the kiosks and bikes will need to undergo maintenance. That means The city of Oklahoma City’s Office of Sustainability will have to temporarily shut down all of the Spokies stations and remove the bikes while these improvements are being made. The stations will be shut down today.

But don’t fret! DOKC expects the maintenance to take less a month, and as an act of goodwill, we’re automatically giving an extra month of Spokies service for free to everyone who signed up for a membership on or before May 30.

We appreciate your patience as we work to make Spokies the best it can be. We’ve heard a lot of great feedback and suggestions for improvement, and we’re planning to implement a lot of your recommendations, so keep ‘em coming!

We assure you we’re working hard to get those bikes back on the streets as soon as possible. Attached is the official press release with more information. If you have questions, feel free to give us a call at 235-3500 or contact me personally.


Thanks again for your support,

Jill Brown DeLozier
Marketing Director
Downtown Oklahoma City, Inc.
One Leadership Square
211 North Robinson, Suite 225
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
Direct: (405) 235-3515
Mobile: (405) 623-7206

Out of courosity, how were these bike secured to the bike rack? Surely they weren't just parked there unsecured. Tampa tried the 'unsecured' route a few years ago. All the bikes were stolen on the first day.

There is a mount on the front of the bike frame. You "plug" it in and it locks the bike to the rack.

There is a mount on the front of the bike frame. You "plug" it in and it locks the bike to the rack.

So are the stolen bikes being stolen from the rack, or from individual who rented them and then parked them somewhere? I guess since they are having to make modifications to the racks they are being stolen from there.

Here's a video on the project:

Q_h0GC4Lv_o&feature=context-chv

I am assuming that they can get each bike back because they have gps chips in them, but I assume they're wanting to prevent a long-term issue if it's been a bigger deal than expected. I saw a homeless guy riding one around Western and Sheridan the other day and thought that was odd..

I am assuming that they can get each bike back because they have gps chips in them, but I assume they're wanting to prevent a long-term issue if it's been a bigger deal than expected. I saw a homeless guy riding one around Western and Sheridan the other day and thought that was odd..

Hahaha. Maybe they are free to "vietnam vets"

The rack walker was totally empty today.

Are all the racks closed? I saw two bikes on the streets today.

Are all the racks closed? I saw two bikes on the streets today.

It's been temporarily suspended.

http://kfor.com/2012/06/01/bike-program-suspended/

I read that - I'm just wondering why there were still bikes on the road.

Stolen maybe? LOL

Stolen maybe? LOL


I actually wondered that,but the two riders seemed pretty 'normal' looking. Not sure though the profile of the typical Spokies bandit.

I actually wondered that,but the two riders seemed pretty 'normal' looking. Not sure though the profile of the typical Spokies bandit.

a speck of guerrilla marketing?

I actually wondered that,but the two riders seemed pretty 'normal' looking. Not sure though the profile of the typical Spokies bandit.

Have there been enough stolen to generate a profile?

I actually wondered that,but the two riders seemed pretty 'normal' looking. Not sure though the profile of the typical Spokies bandit.

Aside from ljbab's point, living in a cardboard box is a good start.. :rolleyes:

Aside from ljbab's point, living in a cardboard box is a good start.. :rolleyes:


Which only proves that our homeless population is into a healthy lifestyle. LOL

Any ideas on when the program will be back up and running?

This was posted previously; I received it on 5/31:



Dear Spokies member,

Thanks for being among the first to try out Oklahoma City’s first bike share program. Because of people like you, OKC is on track to becoming a greener, healthier, more progressive city. And that’s no small feat!

As many of you know from personal experience, it’s been a struggle getting the Spokies software to work seamlessly. Also, there have been several incidents of theft and vandalism. To correct these problems, the kiosks and bikes will need to undergo maintenance. That means The city of Oklahoma City’s Office of Sustainability will have to temporarily shut down all of the Spokies stations and remove the bikes while these improvements are being made. The stations will be shut down today.

But don’t fret! DOKC expects the maintenance to take less a month, and as an act of goodwill, we’re automatically giving an extra month of Spokies service for free to everyone who signed up for a membership on or before May 30.

We appreciate your patience as we work to make Spokies the best it can be. We’ve heard a lot of great feedback and suggestions for improvement, and we’re planning to implement a lot of your recommendations, so keep ‘em coming!

We assure you we’re working hard to get those bikes back on the streets as soon as possible. Attached is the official press release with more information. If you have questions, feel free to give us a call at 235-3500 or contact me personally.


Thanks again for your support,

Jill Brown DeLozier
Marketing Director
Downtown Oklahoma City, Inc.
One Leadership Square
211 North Robinson, Suite 225
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
Direct: (405) 235-3515
Mobile: (405) 623-7206

Hopefully the acceptance of my debit card wasn't a "software glitch". Guess I will find out again in a month.

I saw one bike in the rack in front of the Memorial today. Maybe someone returned one of the stolen bikes.

I saw one bike in the rack in front of the Memorial today. Maybe someone returned one of the stolen bikes.

Maybe under the newly revised program, Spokies will consist of four stations and only one bike available to the public. That's bond to save on upkeep security and maintenance!

I guess our bicycles are for homeless people from Washington state.

http://okgazette.com/oklahoma/article-15432-spinning-wheels.html

Heh heh, that's funny. For those of us who have never given Spokane much thought..

On a side note, there is an excellent bikeshare program in Pullman. In fact I think it's a model program.

Ours would probably have less bikes getting stolen by homeless people if they moved the memorial station over to Robinson.

Here is a yet to be completed Spokies rack near the convention center:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8013/7175229621_f2b3d7aab5_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/54186309@N04/7175229621/) Bicycle Rack 6.10.2012 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/54186309@N04/7175229621/) by dani1262 (http://www.flickr.com/people/54186309@N04/), on Flickr

I guess our bicycles are for homeless people from Washington state.

http://okgazette.com/oklahoma/article-15432-spinning-wheels.html

Maybe they'll just drop the "Sp", get rid of all the bikes, and just claim the remaining structure is a hitching post for all the horses everyone else thinks we still ride.

Maybe they'll just drop the "Sp", get rid of all the bikes, and just claim the remaining structure is a hitching post for all the horses everyone else thinks we still ride.

Made me laugh. For all the talk, the only folks I've seen with horses in town for a long long time are carriage tourists, mounted police ... and of course the occasional out of towner like Charles Barkley.

The bikes are today back at the racks across from the 'Peake Arena.

The bikes are today back at the racks across from the 'Peake Arena.

Saw the racks filled up again at the memorial too.

So is the program back on? I sure hope so. I agree that maybe the bikes near the library should be moved since so many homeless people hang out there - it's kinda like asking them to take the bikes..

Ditto for Library and Bricktown.

A dozen in midtown.

I'm glad they decided to get it going again during The Finals, It'll give people from out of town a chance to ride around the city.

Kudos to the City for such a quick turn around on resolving the issues.

Until I saw yesterday in person, it's very hard to comprehend the amount of construction happening around downtown... It seems to be *everywhere*.

I'm sure these bikes will get much more use once most of this is done. It's hard enough just walking around let alone trying to navigate a bike through all that.

Anybody have any idea what, specifically, changed (if anything)?

It asked me for my phone number today. Didn't give me a receipt. Two main things I noticed.

Just received this:



Hello Spokies members,

Downtown Oklahoma City, Inc. and the City of Oklahoma City are proud to announce that the Spokies Bike Share program is up and running again! We corrected some software and credit card processing issues and welded the locks to the bikes so they can no longer be stripped from the docks and stolen.

The Spokies bikes were put back in the stations last Monday before the first NBA Finals game, and since then, our staff and partners have been doing extensive testing on the kiosks.

Feel free start using the Spokies bikes again, and let us know if you experience any difficulties. If you have additional questions or comments for us, please contact Brandi Morrow in the DOKC office. The number is 405-235-3500 and her email is brandi@downtownokc.com

Thanks for your patience during our time for repairs. Ride on!

Just another waste of money on something that no one will use and others will vandalize..... Quit wasting my tax dollars on crap like this!

Just another waste of money on something that no one will use and others will vandalize..... Quit wasting my tax dollars on crap like this!

Two things. 1) People do use it. 2) Not all tax dollars are yours.

When launched, they said they expected the program to at least break even, so there shouldn't be any tax money involved.

Just another waste of money on something that no one will use and others will vandalize..... Quit wasting my tax dollars on crap like this!

Can you confirm with a link that your tax dollars were used on this? Also, if you don't want anything else to be built with your tax dollars cause you think it's stupid, there are plenty of suburbs here for you to go spend in.

Just another waste of money on something that no one will use and others will vandalize..... Quit wasting my tax dollars on crap like this!

Your paid tax contribution to this project was probably less than .19 cents....................

I use this about 2-3 times a month. Very good program, I enjoy using it.

Just another waste of money on something that no one will use and others will vandalize..... Quit wasting my tax dollars on crap like this!

No offense, but you probably have no idea where your tax dollars are being spent if you think this is "a waste."

I go by the racks all the time and there are always different numbers of bikes in all of them. They all look like they're being used, and I suspect as the weather cools, use will increase. I've got a flat tire on my bike, and it's very tempting to avoid the trouble of repairing it and using a Spokie, especially since there are two racks within easy, easy walking distance.

The Spokies program has actually motivated me to think about buying a bike of my own.

I own a bike and will never use Spokies, but I'm glad that it's available to others, and I'm happy to pay a little bit to support the program.

The Journal Record reports today that another station is being/has been added in Automobile Alley. The story is behind the JR's pay wall. Anybody know the details?

The Journal Record reports today that another station is being/has been added in Automobile Alley. The story is behind the JR's pay wall. Anybody know the details?

Good, I never understood why they thought that the Memorial station would effectively cover AA in the first place. With its plethora of new shops, I'm sure there are now visitors who only come to AA and don't get by the Memorial or over to Midtown, so having a station in such a visible area is important.

The Journal Record reports today that another station is being/has been added in Automobile Alley. The story is behind the JR's pay wall. Anybody know the details?

The Spokies website says a new location is coming soon to 9th & Broadway.

Great news... Always thought it was strange that AA had been left off the original plan.


Also, they just announced the addition of lights to the bikes -- great idea.

Film Row would be a perfect location. I just tweeted them about this.


I wonder if they would put a station near 23rd? May be too far outside their desired geography.