When Honolulu’s bike-share system Biki launched in nearly a decade ago, it promised to bring Hawaiʻi a transportation method that had seen success in places like New York City, Boston and Miami.Residents and tourists could get around urban Honolulu by renting a bike for cheap from one of over a hundred stations and returning it somewhere else. In its first year, Biki was such a success that operating company Secure Bike Share added another 300 bikes to its original fleet of 1,000.But time has not been kind to Biki. Vandalism along with normal wear and tear has depleted the fleet to less than half its original size. Only 478 bikes remained by the end of April, according to city spokesperson Travis Ota, a 60% drop.People who want to use bikes often can’t find one, making it harder to generate needed revenue and trapping the system in a sort of doom spiral.
“It’s really frustrating that it’s not a reliable form of transportation,” frequent Honolulu visitor Josiah Ryan said. Officials at the Honolulu Department of Transportation Services declined an interview, saying they are working on pending contracts and therefore limited in what they can say. In a written statement, Director of Transit Jon Nouchi said the city’s goal is to eventually restore Biki’s fleet to its former heights.
