How has Biki's first week in business been? Officials report strong numbers

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The numbers for the first week of operation of Honolulu's new bike sharing service "Biki" are in.

In just one week, Bikeshare Hawaii officials say more than 10,600 rides were taken by over 4,800 riders since Biki officially began on June 28.

Some 2,700 of those rides were on the Fourth of July alone.

Most of the rides were taken by casual kiosk users, while around 800 people signed up for a membership.

"It's really exciting to see everybody out riding because when there's a project that's been in the works for five years, and then you actually see people using it, it's great," Bikeshare Hawaii's Executive Director Lori McCarney said.

McCarney says the users of the bikes are a mix of locals and visitors.

Despite the successful numbers, Biki has run into some issues.

Nearing the debut of the program, some residents and businesses were upset over the loss of parking in Waikiki and Downtown Honolulu to make way for the bike kiosks.

On Monday, Hawaii News Now also reported the bikes weren't registered with the city until five days after the program's start, which upset other biking companies.

The bikes have since been registered, and the non-profit running the program has until Friday at 4 p.m. to put the stickers on all 1,000 bicycles.

"We're going around chasing bikes to put stickers on because the stickers need to match each of the serial numbers so we've spent one whole night sorting out stickers to match and then there's a team putting them out now," McCarney said. "It's a challenge, but we're going to deliver on it."

The city allowed the group to register the bikes electronically to eliminate unnecessary paperwork due to the large amount of bicycles in their fleet.

On a positive note, Biki reports no bikes have been stolen, crashed or damaged.

For more information on the program, click here.

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