On August 21, five green bikes appeared at a bus stop near the junction of Southwest Admiral Way and California Avenue. On each bike was written, “Please return to any bus stop. For maintenance, contact Guy.” It also included a Facebook link to reach him. With that simple action, Guy Olson launched Seattle Green Bikes, a new public-transportation project in West Seattle.
“Just grab a bike, ride it until you’re done, and try to return it,” says Olson, a West Seattle gardener who co-opted the idea from Portland’s Yellow Bike Project (which thrived briefly in the 1990s). Olson’s friends and gardening clients have donated all the bicycles, and Olson does the maintenance himself. “I think if people have the opportunity to ride home rather than wait [for a bus or taxi], they will,” he says.
However, the green bikes have an uphill challenge. Portland’s bike project failed because the bikes in circulation were stripped or stolen. Olson says he doesn’t mind the bikes disappearing. His goal is to see people using them—and he knows people are riding them because, he says, “a few guys have contacted me about maintenance.”
Olson has left a total of 16 bikes at West Seattle bus stops. His goal is to expand his project into Georgetown and Ballard, but he says for that, he’ll need help. 
A good thing. Hope the dicks and a-holes don’t ruin it or the City finds some obscure law against it. Share those bikes people!
The “obscure law” that the use of these bikes run the risk of offending is that, unless you carry a helmet with you everywhere, getting on one of these will put you in violation of Seattle’s sporadically enforced helmet law. If the cops or the city don’t like the idea of people getting on bikes that they didn’t have to increase a tax for, watch that helmet law start getting enforced all over the place.
Oh yeah and get with it The Stranger, this was on the west seattle blog a week ago.
Right now there’s two at the Junction: one in front of Next To Nature and another at Cupcakes Royale. Enjoy!
won’t work unless you work to repeal Seattle’s paternalistic bike helmet laws.
I just found one in front of my bike shop (Aaron’s Bicycle Repair)and fixed it up and put it out again. There is a bus stop 100 feet away.
My first thought on the public-use green bicycle program, that seems to have SDOT go ahead, is this: Who is liable if a user is struck by a car? My second thought is : If one of the free use bikes develops a mechanical defect(like a brake pad falls off, or a weld breaks, or the wheel bolt becomes loose and the wheel falls off)and a user crashes, or strikes a pedestrian, or causes an automobile collision,or …? Would the city be liable? could the idea creator be sued? I think the concept is a great idea, there is many benefits to the plan, BUT,… unless there is some way of having the potential users agreeing to and signing off (each and every use of these bicycles) on some kind of liability limiting waiver to protect the city and other agencies from the potential legal ramifications, I can foresee lawsuits, injury and property damage claims and other problems, which will push the area’s attorney’s into higher tax brackets with all the new business. I am sorry, but I feel that this is what will ultimately end up happening, unless there is some liability eliminating legal instrument that can be incorporated into the action or intent to utilize said “free public use” bicycles. Terry K. in Tacoma