08-29-2017, 09:12 PM
That's right! Because the lock mechanism is on the bike itself, the "docks" at stations are simply dumb metal hoops - just like any other bike rack. There is a keypad on the back of the bike; you can enter your PIN, and the lock unlocks.
You can park a SoBi bike anywhere (within the allowable range - which is all of Hamilton), but there's a $2 fee to finish your ride not at a rack. Just enough of a fee to give you the incentive to try and end your ride at a rack, but not a huge enough deturrant that someone who really wanted to use a bike but had to drop it off somewhere outside of a rack might think they couldn't use the system.
You can park a SoBi bike anywhere (within the allowable range - which is all of Hamilton), but there's a $2 fee to finish your ride not at a rack. Just enough of a fee to give you the incentive to try and end your ride at a rack, but not a huge enough deturrant that someone who really wanted to use a bike but had to drop it off somewhere outside of a rack might think they couldn't use the system.