Bike sharing has exploded onto the scene across the country in the last couple of years and is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Once a bike share company is granted permission from a municipality to operate, they have shown a penchant for saturating public spaces with as many bikes as they can provide. Issues such as bikes found floating in lakes, left in the middle of sidewalks, left in public roadways, and even pranksters leaving piles of these bikes on the lawns of homeowners are, unfortunately, quite common. In Dallas, companies like Ofo, LimeBike, and VBikes were able to drop approximately 20,000 bikes in the city before the Dallas City Hall sent a demand letter, after significant public outcry, demanding these companies clean up the large number of bikes left strewn about the city.

 While bike sharing can certainly be a positive experience for a municipality, preparation to get ahead of these common issues is imperative to avoid them. Below is a non-exhaustive list of simple fixes municipalities can pursue that can help reel in bike share companies before the problem becomes too big to handle:

  • Limit the number of bike share companies allowed to operate in a city.
  • Limit the total number of bikes allowed (either total number, per company, or both).
  • Only permit bike share companies to operate if they provide docking stations for their bikes so that they are not left anywhere a rider chooses to discontinue the ride.
  • Demand any bike share company provide a sizable force of employees strictly committed to the collection of bikes left in improper areas, such as ponds, personal lawns, leaning against buildings, in parking lots, and other areas of public import. Prepare an ordinance that fines the companies for bikes left out in the right-of-way of either roadways, sidewalks, or trails for significant durations of time.
  • Prepare an ordinance that permits the municipality to confiscate bikes subject to payment of a fine if left in unwanted areas overnight.

With careful planning and appropriate foresight, some of these easily avoidable problems can be addressed while also meeting the increasing public demand for more of these brightly colored bikes. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments regarding the issue of bike share companies and municipalities please do not hesitate to contact our office.

Prepared by the offices of Richard Abernathy, this article should not be construed as legal advice related to any specific facts or circumstances. Although this article covers legal subjects, it is intended to educate readers and not to provide advice that will be the basis for action or inaction in any specific circumstance. Viewing these materials does not create an attorney-client relationship between Abernathy, Roeder, Boyd & Hullett, P.C. and the reader or the reader’s institution. For circumstance-specific legal advice, please directly contact a licensed attorney.