Ofo is the latest Seattle bike-share service to warn riders of brake lines being cut in acts of vandalism.
In March, Ofo competitors Spin and LimeBike issued similar warnings to riders after receiving reports of cut brakes in Seattle. Ofo is urging riders to inspect brake wires and squeeze brakes to test them before jumping on any shared bike in Seattle.
Brake cutting is most prevalent in Seattle’s Pioneer Square, Westlake Park, and International District neighborhoods, according to Ofo.
The Seattle Department of Transportation started reported incidents of vandalized brakes on bikes in March.
We’re getting reports that some #seattlebikeshare bikes have had brakes vandalized. We’re working w/the companies to notify users, but in the meantime, please be sure to test your bike share brakes before you hop on. More info soon!
–@limebike @ofo_bicycle @Spin_Seattle— seattledot (@seattledot) March 21, 2018
Bike-share customers have also discovered cut brake lines in Seattle. On March 2, Yifan Zhang, the co-founder of the Seattle startup Loftium, tweeted that her husband narrowly missed colliding with cars when his brakes were cut on a shared bike.
Be careful Seattle bikers – check your brakes!! Someone cut the brakes on my husband’s bikeshare and he had to fall to avoid traffic. Seen multiple bikes w cut breaks – whoever is doing this are absolute cowards, putting Seattle lives at risk. @limebike @Spin_Seattle @ofo_bicycle
— Yifan Zhang (@yifanz) March 3, 2018
Ofo, Spin, and LimeBike are all dockless bicycle sharing services, meaning riders can pick them up and drop them off anywhere in the city. Their portability has made the bikes frequent targets of vandalism.