
Why a scaling bike parking network needs IoT, not Bluetooth
Bluetooth locks scale to a dozen doors. Networks that reach hundreds need devices with their own connection — and a platform that outlives the hardware.

There’s a new high-tech, state-of-the-art bike rack at the Wilson Building in downtown DC. Kristjan Lind founded his start-up Bikeep in his native Estonia. Now his bike racks have taken off across Europe and San Francisco. Now he’s bringing them to the nation’s capital under a small pilot program with the city.

Bluetooth locks scale to a dozen doors. Networks that reach hundreds need devices with their own connection — and a platform that outlives the hardware.

Since 2016, Bikeep smart bike parking stations at BART have cut bike theft and outlasted a decade of daily use across the Bay Area transit network.

A summer pilot on Princess Street became permanent: 18 secure Bikeep docks across three downtown Kingston locations, free for residents and visitors.