BikeLink

Love it. Would like to see these lockers all across college campuses, and civic centers once they work out the kinks. A group of lockers in Castro Valley are malfunctioning, and a couple at the Hayward BART station have a notice to «call support» and are out of service.

Collateral damage? I appreciate the argument. But, BART could have simply added BikeLink lockers «in addition» to the monthly rentals. That would accommodate all their customers! Really. How much room would it have taken up?

The good, the bad, the good, the bad, the good… Useful, but supplanting a prior era and cause???
Ok, so Bikelink — storage lockers at transit centers and other business locations– is still inexpensive, so this is good. I was mad when it was first put in because there used to be absolutely free watched parking in the Berkeley BART station and I think at Fruitvale? So I was mad when it turned into a payment scam. However once I used it and realized how cheap it is, really only cents per day, I was somewhat neutralized about it. Plus there are more locations than just two BART stations, i.e. San Francisco, most BART stations and some other locations as well. And I was happy that you can retrieve your bike at any hour of the night or early morning, because it is dependent upon your card and not an attendant.

I absolutely love the fact that Bike Link exists!
After having had my bike parts stolen about five times in 1 year, I decided to invest in the BikeLink card.
On top of the bike lockers though, I LOVE the service! Once when the card reader wasn’t working, I called in, frantically trying to get my bike out to get home and pick up my child from daycare. They very quickly walked me through it and released my bike – with proper proof.
A great service to our community!

Customer service is awesome! A couple of weeks ago, I leave my office in SF and arrive at the El Cerrito Bart to find out I forgot my Bikelink card! Furthermore, it was almost 7pm on a Friday night, I just wanted to go home! Thankfully, Bikelink was still open (I think they are ²⁴⁄₇), and they were able to remotely walk me through opening my bike locker with a special one time use code. So relieved, such a good deal at 3 cents an hour, which is well worth the piece of mind of having all your wheels and seat still on your bike when you return.

I am so impressed by BikeLink and their entire operation, which makes it easy for me to travel from BART stations throughout the Bay Area. However for the really cheap price to park my bike I did not expect the level of service that I received. At almost 1 am I wasn’t able to to get my bike out of a locker. I was able to call support and not only did they were able to get the door open so that I can get my bike, they also replaced my card with a new one on a Sunday! I can’t think of many places that even open on Sunday. I was already happy with the service but that experience has made me a customer for a long time!

What a great idea and what better place to apply this system than right here in the bay area. It’s so nice to know that there are convenient areas to safely and securely leave your precious bike without having to worry if you’re going to come back and find your bike just as you left it.
As someone who has had their bike stole before (damn thieves!), i’m always extra wary of where I park my bike. But with the bikelink facilities and lockers placed at a lot of convenient BART locations, I feel pretty confident that my bike is safe and won’t be tampered with. The price point is killer, too, at 3 cents an hour there’s no reason not to use it!

Best commuter solution in the bay area!

This service is awesome!!! It costs me less than $ 6 to safely park my bike each month at the Bart. I no longer need to carry my cumbersome and heavy lockers with me. My brand new bike doesn’t get stolen or vandalized, it barely gets wet when it rains, and my helmet never gets peed in. It’s easy to charge and recharge the BikeLink card. Whenever there is a problem, there’s always a helpful person available to speak to. I love BikeLink!

3 cents/​hr to keep your bike safe. Yes, please! I have been using BikeLink for months (at the MacArthur BART station) and there has always been an open locker, I have never had anything stolen, and I’ve paid an incredibly reasonable amount. Being a tiny woman with a boyfriend from NYC who always had me carry around a 15 lb kryptonite chain with a huge padlock on it, my shoulders are also thankful for these lockers. Thanks BikeLink!

FINALLY, finally finallllyyy I don’t have to worry about getting my bike stolen, be it at 2am at night or 10am in the morning (for serious, people– why are you stealing parts in broad daylight?! …or at all. sigh.).
Surprisingly, there are lots of lockers already installed at many, many BART stations, and it’s so cheap that my inner (and outer) Asian doesn’t shudder with fury at the thought. I love, love, love the fact that I can get any hours I didn’t spend refunded on the card, so I always just put 20 hours when I first lock my bike, knowing that I won’t be paying for all 20 hours’ worth.
I giggled like a little girl (hey, I’m a WOMAN, now.) when I finally got my BikeLink card in the mail. It’s so pretty that I nearly always get it mixed up with my SFMOMA card. The BF ‘scouted’ out the practice by stealthily spying on people using the lockers for a few days to figure out how often the lockers are free and how to use them, but… you can just watch the how-​to videos on their website. I think, for the most part, they’ve got the right amount of lockers for every location.

I got my new BikeLink card in the mail over the weekend. This morning (Monday) I tried to use it for the first time, but there was a glitch and I couldn’t use the lockers. I emailed BikeLink via their website, and within an hour I had a phone call and email. They met me at 7:30 pm tonight (at my convenience) at the BART station to take my bad card and hand-​deliver me a new card.
They told me that they’ll have their engineers take a look at my bad card… I guess glitches can happen. So, for problem resolution I give them an A++. (During this process I spoke/​met with 3 different people, and they were all very helpful and nice.)
For about $ 0.03 and hour for secure bike parking you can’t beat the price, either.

A simple idea, long overdue.
With BikeLink, you can ride your bike to a station or city center, lock it up — and return to it, with your seat, headlight, and both your wheels intact. For those of us commuting in vandal-​thick regions such as downtown Oakland (I had my cheap foam *handlebar grips* stolen from my bike in front of the Main Library. Is there any petty crime more pathetic?), BikeLink removes our reasonable anxiety about parking our bikes away from our constant surveillance. Unlike the BART locker program, you don’t have to reserve a locker; you just show up at the few places where BikeLink is installed, insert your smart card, and, for really just pennies, lock your bike in an easy-​to-​use mesh locker.
The only complaint I have isn’t really BikeLink’s fault. It turns out that a bunch of morons regularly U-​lock their bicycles at the 19^th Street BART station on the railing just in front of the BikeLink locker doors. Don’t be surprised to return to your locker and find some idiot has blocked your locker door. According to BikeLink, BART required the lockers placed here in such a way that exposes some kind of lighting panel, and also the railing these jerks are using.
I leave it up to you if you want to feel bad for bending somebody’s wheel in the effort to retrieve your bike from the locker.

I don’t «Bike» but my brother does and he was giggling like a schoolgirl when these were installed at bart so if he’s happy with them thats good enough for me. 5 stars for safe places to lock your bike.