BART's first smart bike parking at 16th Street, San Francisco

In June 2017 Bikeep installed its first pilot smart bike parking station for Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) at the 16th Street Mission station in San Francisco. The goal was to cut bike theft at BART stations and give riders a safe place to leave their bike before they board the train.

The Clipper card is the key

Riders didn't need to carry a lock. After a one-time online registration, they tapped their Clipper card, the same card they use on transit across the Bay Area, and the dock locked the bike in place. Parking was free, with a 24-hour limit. If someone forgot a bike, BART contacted the owner before removing it.

Built to stop thieves

• Steel locking bar. An industrial-grade steel bar holds the frame.
• Alarm. A loudspeaker alarm sounds if someone tampers with a locked bike.
• Distress signal. The station forwards alerts to local security.
• Camera. A surveillance camera watches the docks.

"So far, out of one million parking sessions, we haven't had a single bike theft incident." Kristjan Lind, CEO of Bikeep, in 2017

From pilot to a lasting station

BART had already decided to add Bikeep at a second station and was looking at more. The 16th Street station later grew from 10 to 20 docks. What followed is in What 10 years of BART bike parking taught us.

Estonian World covered the pilot at the time. More on stations for public transport.