LimeBike blames residents for bikes flooding Katy Trail
DALLAS - It's no secret that Dallas has experienced growing pains as ride-share bikes flood the city.
This week, one company pointed the finger at Dallas residents for some of those issues saying they're making it look like a dump.
The Friends of the Katy of Trail group has even had meetings with some of the ride-share companies to try and figure it out. They’ve taken issue with how many bikes there are along the trail and where they are left.
After someone walking the trail took issue with the bikes too and tweeted about it, LimeBike responded with a since-deleted tweet.
"Are the bikes making it look like a dump? Or are your fellow citizens, who are turning over the bikes, and abusing the property we provide for our thousands of riders in Dallas a week...making it look like a dump??” the bike company tweeted. “Dallas can do better. We send a team to the trail every day."
They have since deleted the tweet.
People out on Katy Trail Wednesday afternoon agreed the bikes have become an issue.
“It's out of control. It really is,” said Mark Carden. “I think it's a great idea. It's just that there needs to be a more organized place for people to leave the bikes.”
“I think it's a great idea, in theory,” said Stephanie Golden. “But I think since the companies are warring with each other over who can have the most bikes, they're not really being considerate.”
In a statement to FOX 4, a LimeBike spokesman said that the “tweet was originally intended to acknowledge that it is every one of our own, personal responsibilities to take care of the shared bikes that are serving our community. However, we removed the tweet after it was taken out of context to avoid any further misunderstanding."
The company also pointed to videos to teach people the responsible way to use the bikes.
But changes are likely coming. City transportation officials plan to recommend regulations to city council next month. They'll recommend permitting and could recommend caps on the number of bikes and potentially limit the number of bike vendors.
It could help quell the complaints and agitation over the bikes that dot the Dallas landscape.
LimeBike hasn't elaborated on how it says their tweet was taken out of context. The Friends of the Katy Trail also chimed in. It asked for some of the bikes to be taken away and said it's asked nicely several times.
LimeBike says it has worked with Friends of the Katy Trail and says it has donated to it as well.
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