Or just do like I did and get a 10 speed for $25 at a garage sale and put some Bontrager thorn-resistant tubes on it. You can literally ride over beer bottles with these things. And garage sale bikes don't get stolen or require a credit card.

Or just do like I did and get a 10 speed for $25 at a garage sale and put some Bontrager thorn-resistant tubes on it. You can literally ride over beer bottles with these things. And garage sale bikes don't get stolen or require a credit card.

During my short stay in Philly I developed a methodology for determining what kind of neighborhood I was in by the types of bikes I saw locked up.

Bike in an upstairs window: Upper middle class
Road bike chained up outside: middle class
Mountain bike chained up outside: young middle class
Parts of a bike chained up (usually just the frame): rough neighborhood

Or pay $75 for an annual membership and never be charged a dime more because I never use it more than 30 minutes (I could get to all the stations in 30 minutes, easily) and ride a solid city bike with night lights. Someone comes and repairs them and does all the maintenance on them.

I think at the end of 1 year, I spend less money than you. :)

Spokies bike, yard sale bike... they are both cheaper than gasoline. I got my current bike back in October. I already have saved enough gas to pay for the bike. A few more months and I will have saved enough to pay for all the accessorires (that is sustainability 101).

I've used my debit card plenty of times with Spokies and have never had an issue.

I think it places the amount in ledger so if you do not have at least $600 in your account it will not approve, but it returns the authorization when the bike comes back.

If your card is issued by a bank and backed by Visa or some other credit company you should have no issues.
Eh...I'll just keep riding my own bike.

Yeah my bike is pretty tricked out by now. Since I've been everywhere north of i-240 and south of Memorial on bike I realized upgrading the frame is just a waste. Super thick tubes on a steel frame is going to give you the most bang for the buck. And narrow road bike tires with SPD clips make it a viable transportation option.

Of course spokies makes sense for downtown residents but there are relatively few of those. For everyone else its kind of comically expensive and annoying compared to having and maintaining your own. Of course its still better than driving ...

Different spokes for different folks I guess...... Spokies wouldn't make financial sense to me. I bought my Trek from Al's over 16 years ago. It has lifetime free tuneups and adjustments. In the last 16+ years I haven't spent $200 on parts. Both wheels are quick release, so it fits easily in a car.

I can take it anywhere I want for as long as I want and its already adjusted for me. Makes more financial sense to have my own bike. But, that's my situation. If I lived in Midtown or downtown I would certainly consider it. Otherwise, it just isn't a good choice for others or even tourists IMO.

Curious to hear more about this.

I suppose it could just be different perceptions, but man I see people riding them every day and at a couple locations, we've actually had bikes run out from high-demand. We need more stations and bikes.

If it isn't good for people who live downtown and for tourists, who is using it so much and why would they if it isn't a good value? I used it yesterday to go from 9th & Broadway to LEVEL. I didn't have a bike with me. Was a no-brainer.

I'm just confused with the concerns that it's too expensive, doesn't work (CC vs Debit Card discussion), or that tourists wont use it when I see the exact opposite every day.

If this is turning into simply "he said" vs "she said", then we can just leave it at that. But if there are concrete concerns, I'm interested in hearing more about them.

Actually, I said it probably does work for people living in the immediate area (downtown/Midtown).

As for tourists - sure they may give it a try once (I did) - but certainly reality hits....... A family of 4 visiting our downtown area would have to pay $20 for a 30-minute ride or $36 for an hour and a half of not trying to hurry to the next Spokies stand to check-in/out to avoid a charge.

If I am visiting and my family thought it would be fun to ride bikes to a Midtown restaurant and then back - but arrived to find all the stalls full or worried there would be no bikes when we are done eating, the price starts to add up.

Needs to be by the day for it to make sense to tourists IMO.

It's 'cool' its 'urban' and I'm in favor of it, I just think it could be better and its fluff for the most part (but the right fluff is a good thing).

But, its also cheaper than renting a bike on the river.

My harshest criticisms at this point would have to do with lack of public funding and locations. They could at least show a sign of good will to the African American and Hispanic communities and put one in Capitol Hill and at the State capitol. Also putting one in on the bar strip on Western would make sense. That Shartel bike lane does a good job of connecting Western to downtown. Of course they would need to consider rolling out a road bike model to make that 4 mile ride a little easier.

They really should reduce the pending charge to about $300 and upgrade the free usage from 30 min to 1 hour. Its clear they are targeting a certain demographic and more interested in providing an experience than transportation.

Is anyone seeing a pending charge? I never have, which is why I'm asking.

I did not see one and I don't see it mentioned on their website. Doesn't mean it isn't happening off the radar though I guess. I don't ever see it at gas stations, but I'm told it is happening. I've only seen it when I rent a car.

Also awnings over the bike racks would inevitably reduce weathering of the bikes and increase ridership in summer months.

I would like a membership option for small downtown employers. A business could pay a membership fee and provide employees with membership cards tied to the business account. Maybe this could work within the existing pricing system. Our office would happily utilize such a system.

My only beef is with the required payment method. I don't carry a credit card, and I don't want to. I use a visa-branded debit card. Other than the occasional hassle when trying to rent a car, it works fine for my purposes. A group of us were going to take Spokies from Midtown to the Festival of the Arts last month. About half of us only carry debit cards so that didn't go so well. I'm sure there is a legitimate reason for this (they don't want folks with bad credit scores riding their bikes, lol), but they need to find a way around it.

THIS, what about downtown employees wanting the occasional ride to the other side of DT for lunch. Having to pay a monthly membership plus a per use fee is dumb. Why can't we just pay once or twice a month when we want to use it. Or what about tourists? They have to have a monthly membership just to ride and tour around. DUMB in my opinion.

I dont have a monthly membership and was never charged for one to ride one around. Sid I feel ya....*sigh* Am I the only one who does not live downtown that has not had a negative experience with these? I'm thinking it must be operator error....

I've used the Spokies bikes when I had the free April monthly pass, and I've used similar bikeshare programs in other cities. I think a lot of the misunderstanding about the program is that the intended use is for riding from station to station, not to a specific destination. So after you dock your bike, you'd walk to your destination. Then when you come back you'll just pick a different bike and ride it back.

I think to increase the utility of these bikes and the likelihood of people actually purchasing a membership, we'd have to increase the number of stations. In Valencia, Spain, I used the Valenbisi bikes all the time because there were over 275 stations across the city. I didn't have to worry about finding a station, rather, they'd just be wherever I needed them. OKC is completely different from Valencia, but scattering more stations throughout would serve us well.

Sounds like the limited number of access points is actually the dumb part.

Fair enough, I stand corrected on the monthly membership. Daily Membership $5. Still, as a poster mentioned, a family of 4 visiting, just wanting to ride bikes to lunch would be $20. What if they wanted to site see? What if they wanted a leisurely stroll? $20 on top of a family of 4 lunch can get pretty pricey. Face it, these are designed for DT residents only if you live in the CBD, Midtown or Deep Deuce. And I say that as a DT resident, worker and business owner.

What's not true? A family of 4 x $5 per daily pass doesn't cost $20 extra on top of their lunch? Sure it does. It makes a leisurely stroll to enjoy restaurants outside walking distance unaffordable, or at least unattractive. I work DT and I don't want to pay the $5 daily pass or a monthly pass for the occasional lunch in Bricktown, Midtown or Arts District. We're not talking about more walkable, ridable cities "across the world" I'm talking about OKC.

While it may not be a concern to you, it obviously is to enough people to have taken time to write the same concern on a message board. I never said it wasn't a success, but by who's definition is subjective. More racks are needed long-term. I nominate SOSA for the next one.

What's not true? A family of 4 x $5 per daily pass doesn't cost $20 extra on top of their lunch? Sure it does. It makes a leisurely stroll to enjoy restaurants outside walking distance unaffordable, or at least unattractive. I work DT and I don't want to pay the $5 daily pass or a monthly pass for the occasional lunch in Bricktown, Midtown or Arts District. We're not talking about more walkable, ridable cities "across the world" I'm talking about OKC.

While it may not be a concern to you, it obviously is to enough people to have taken time to write the same concern on a message board. I never said it wasn't a success, but by who's definition is subjective. More racks are needed long-term. I nominate SOSA for the next one.

don't think it makes it "unaffordable" and what should the cost be? free?

If I was on vacation with my wife and kids and she suggested something all 4 of us could do that only cost $20 I would be all over it.

but again it would be different if it were for ENTERTAINMENT purposes, and not a ride and park option for a quick lunch.

When we got off the train in Vancouver with my whole family, we grabbed day passes for the SkyTrain (TransLink) @ $9.75 a piece.

That was such a great trip... we need to do that again... and as I recall, while on the vacation part of the trip, we bought day passes several days in a row. Yeah it was $30 for me my two kids each day, but it was an expected transit cost. I've experienced similar costs in Toronto and DC and other cities on vacations in recent years.

Actually we are trying to get a station in Film Row. Spokies is in talks as we chat about it. A sponsorship of $50,000 would guarantee it.

DOKC secured a sponsorship for Spokies a couple of weeks ago. There will be more details made public soon.

ROFLMAO!!!!! "The bike lobby is an all-powerful enterprise" @ 4:00 mark. Really? Even more powerful than the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal?

Haha that is great! Well worth the few minutes it took to watch.

You know, the more I think about it - that couldn't be real. Someone at the bicycle lobby had to make that up like those Truth commercials that show tobacco company executives saying stupid stuff.

Wow, she is beside herself. This is the machine doing what it does, lol

I would not want Michael Bloomberg to publicly support something I favored because he attracts so many rabid opponents who lose sight of the larger picture. "If Bloomberg is for it, then I'm against it."

Mick Cornett has done similar things in Oklahoma City, one of which was "This City is Going On A Diet," which encouraged people to get in better shape by eating better and exercising. He didn't try to restrict the sizes of fountain soft drinks. In OKC we now have Spokies, and although I've got my own bike and won't ride one from this program, I support it. And New York's. And London's. And those in Amsterdam. And Paris. And all the others.

It's the messenger, not the message. I wish them well in New York, and hope that Ms. Rabinowitz never ventures farther west than the Hudson River. (And Mr. Bloomberg for that matter!)

I would not want Michael Bloomberg to publicly support something I favored because he attracts so many rabid opponents who lose sight of the larger picture. "If Bloomberg is for it, then I'm against it."


Yep, that is a common problem and you just defined about 99% of the people. It is right up there with "the enemy of my enemy is my friend". Even a broken clock is right 2 times a day. I wish people were smarter than that - but they aren't.

I can justify my cost concerns above if there were more stations installed, Film Row being one of them. Get one in SoSA as well and I'll join. For now, I'll stick to using my own bike since the nearest station is a 1/4 mile from my DT condo and business.

I don't think it's a secret that they currently have a fraction of the footprint they would LIKE to have someday.

I'm curious as to estimated expansion timeline and possible locations they're considering. It's not like it needs to be "top secret" information. If anything, announcing the future expansion plans may boost ridership now, thus providing more capital to invest in the expansion sooner. If I knew Film Row and SOSA would have a rack by "x" date, I'd invest early as a good faith investment in the system.

Might be worth tweeting @spokies to see if they could give you info on that. I'm sure they would do so for anything that has been finalized and would also probably appreciate suggestions for future locations.

I know they do have a presenting sponsor nailed down and signed, though I don't believe it has been officially announced yet, so it's not my place to reveal who it is. Good news for the long-term viability of the program. I doubt that would preclude them from having other sponsors underwrite specific locations, such as Sid suggests.

With the launch of the bike share program in NYC there has been a lot of publicity about other programs around the country. I went on the Wikipedia bike share page to see what other cities have similar programs and OKC is not listed although cities such as Fort Worth whose program is "planned" is listed. List of bicycle sharing systems - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bicycle_sharing_systems)

I'll try and go edit it later to include OKC's Spokies. Does anyone know the exact year Spokies started? It was 2012, right?

Honestly I am quite suprise the Rollerblade lobby hasn't squashed this already. We've already seen what they did to the roller skate!: cool:

Was going to try to edit this today... how many stations and bikes does Spokies utilize? Is the actual company/system called Spokies, or something else?

What are your preferred locations for future Spokies stations?

If you've got the time, explain why you've suggested those location(s). What makes you believe those locations would be successful/useful.

Be precise as you can.

Plaza District. It is the hipster area for OKC and hipsters like to ride bikes. I think it would also help connect that area with Midtown if they would restripe Classen with a bike lane on either side. It would also be a good connection to OCU since it is only six blocks south.

What are your preferred locations for future Spokies stations?

If you've got the time, explain why you've suggested those location(s). What makes you believe those locations would be successful/useful.

Be precise as you can.

The Edge - 252 apartments plus retail. It is both an originator of riders and a destination. Plus other residential is coming on-line in the surrounding area. While some of the future Edge residents might have their own bikes already, I suspect most of them won't. Get them hooked early and it is easier to keep them.

Also maybe Paseo as a gateway to future expansion up to 23rd.

Any place in particular in Plaza you think a rack should go?

I would think the most useful spot would be on the SW corner of 16th and Blackwelder, which is right across the street from the Mule, Saints, DNA Galleries, Pie Junkie, Collecteed Thread, Tree and Leaf and Velvet Monkey. Another spot would be just south of the Plaza Discount Store near the Lyric parking lot.

Boathouse District? Do they rent out bicycles already there? One thing that is not clear here in this part of the US is where you can ride a bicycle. Not on sidewalks but in the city streets. Does that mean they can not be ridden along the new sidewalk connections under I-40? The zig-zag sidewalk on the NW side of the riverboat terminus would be hard to take advantage of so they need to have a straight away sidewalk to the parking lot for the Landrun Monument for ease of access. Random thoughts, sorry.

SOSA is always overlooked DT for public amenities and the last DT district that is undeveloped and disconnected from the rest of Midtown and DT. Lets help connect it.

I'd also like to see one in the Plaza.

I've been told (and scolded), bikes are not supposed to be on the pathways along the canal.
Good to know. I do that on occasion in Lesser Bricktown. I kind of suspected that, but never saw any confirmation. Oops.

Boathouse District? Do they rent out bicycles already there? One thing that is not clear here in this part of the US is where you can ride a bicycle. Not on sidewalks but in the city streets. Does that mean they can not be ridden along the new sidewalk connections under I-40? The zig-zag sidewalk on the NW side of the riverboat terminus would be hard to take advantage of so they need to have a straight away sidewalk to the parking lot for the Landrun Monument for ease of access. Random thoughts, sorry.

The Chesapeake boathouse does have rental/member bikes. The part under i40 is part of the trail network, there is a more direct path to the land run park area that will be built (I believe where the bikes would be expected to take) but they currently need the space for the heavy equipment dirt road.

Technically bikes are illegal on the canal north of Reno, legal south of Reno (Lower Bricktown and beyond).

Technically bikes are illegal on the canal north of Reno, legal south of Reno (Lower Bricktown and beyond).

That's just an asinine rule. The city needs to just paint some more bicycle double carrot patches on Reno and other streets through Bricktown so folks will be aware.

Near-term:
Boathouse - large rack
18th/Western (Homeland) - small rack

Mid-term:
23rd/Dewey-ish (Uptown) - large rack
Plaza - large rack
Paseo - small rack

Long term:
OUHSC - small rack
Farmers Market - small rack
Pedestrian Bridge or Union Station - large rack
Capitol Hill - large rack
Wheeler Park - small rack

An update by Steve.

http://www.oklahoman.com/article/3858157


This rush to two-wheeled transportation isn't limited to Millennials. Tourists also are using the Spokies bikes, as evidenced by the station in the entertainment district accounting for 25 percent of all checkouts. At various festivals, families and empty nesters are riding the bikes with the attached double-sided baskets.

But the most vocal demand for bike lanes, racks, bike-sharing and activities in Oklahoma City's urban core is no doubt coming from a younger generation that a quarter century ago would have simply abandoned their hometown altogether.ill DeLozier, spokeswoman for Downtown Oklahoma City Inc., reports that Spokies is breaking ridership records with 1,659 checking out the bicycles in June, and 1,149 bikes checked out in May.

The operation launched in May 2012. Rides for 2012 totaled 4,369. Rides for the first six months of 2013, meanwhile, totaled 5,343.

The first Spokies expansion is just a matter of weeks away — the station is in storage, and bikes are being ordered for an addition along boathouse row. A sponsorship is set to be announced soon, and DeLozier reports that additional money will support an expansion of two stations per year. Film Row folks, you might be next. Ditto for the Oklahoma Health Center.

When I was in Denver a few weeks ago I noticed their bike share stations all over town. I also noticed that most of their racks were quite a bit smaller than the ones we have. Each rack only had 8-10 bikes each. I wonder if our system would work well with more stations with less bikes?

Really glad to see the ridership with Spokies climbing rapidly (per Steve's numbers) and that they will be expanding to the River and Film Row.

Looks like the program is a big success and is really just getting started.

CC, I think you might be right. What about smaller racks, 4 bikes or so located near post offices, banks, and in the future even convenience stores. These types of racks would be more for quick trips than an actual check-in it would be very easy! I really think that the bicycle will continue to grow in popularity in OKC. My only concern, which is only slight, is if a major corporate sponsor provides bikes and stations, could they also prevent the installations of regular bike racks? While I really enjoy Spokies, I don’t want people who use their personal bike to be denied access to a secure rack to lock them up. That boathouse rack in conjunction with the under I-40 access is going to be HUGE!

Near-term:
Boathouse - large rack
18th/Western (Homeland) - small rack

Mid-term:
23rd/Dewey-ish (Uptown) - large rack
Plaza - large rack
Paseo - small rack

Long term:
OUHSC - small rack
Farmers Market - small rack
Pedestrian Bridge or Union Station - large rack
Capitol Hill - large rack
Wheeler Park - small rack

All good ideas. There's no good reasoning for requiring all bike racks to be within a half mile of one another.

This makes me sad:

Expansions into the Plaza District, UpTown and Western Avenue, however, are far less likely. The operation requires stations be located no more than a half-mile apart.

But, I guess once they get one in the Plaza District, OCU or Uptown, the other two aren't going to be too far behind.

It has to be incremental. Despite posts suggesting otherwise, the people who put this together are actually intelligent folks, and the program is well thought out. As Sid mentions, the desired proximity is based on industry best practices. The optimal distance between stations is actually not a half-mile; it's only a few hundred yards. The thing has to be scaled up to succeed.

The article should probably have said "expansions into the Plaza District, UpTown and Western Avenue, however, are far less likely IN THE NEAR TERM." The Spokies peeps are well aware that there is desire in those other areas, and long-term they would love to meet that demand.

No it doesn't have to be incremental. I maintain that this is a cutesy attempt at using tax money to make a profit rather than an earnest effort to provide a viable urban transportation option to all potential bikers (and voters) in the urban core.

No it doesn't have to be incremental. I maintain that this is a cutesy attempt at using tax money to make a profit rather than an earnest effort to provide a viable urban transportation option to all potential bikers (and voters) in the urban core.

if it was to "make a profit" they wouldn't need hundreds of thousands of dollars in sponsorships .. to build new racks and run the system ..

Do the Spokies racks also allow space for privately owned bikes to be secured there also? Looks like we should in general build and promote bike usage, including privately owned ones. Perhaps the city could mandate that for every parking lot (especially surface ones) a special tax be levied and a requirement to provide secure bike racks at some ratio to car spaces.

A special use tax on non-structured parking receipts could be used to pay for new Spokies locations and or other mass trans options.

You're welcome to PM if you know of consulting opportunities. Everyone isn't as generous with their input as you are.

It puts several thousands bike trips downtown where previously, there were none.

I don't think this can be stressed enough. Those bike trips either replaced car trips (and all the personal, environmental, and government cost that go with them) or allowed economic activity to take place that otherwise wouldn't have. Even if someone doesn't like to ride them, when they see a person riding a bike that is one less person in front of them at the stop light.