Bikeshare company Ofo will donate used bikes over the next few weeks to several nonprofits as they wind down operations in Seattle.
Ofo announced last month it was shuttering its Seattle service by August 31 after the City of Seattle adopted an annual fee of $250,000 for bikeshare companies.
The company said Friday it was working with World Vision, a faith-based organization that tackles poverty and injustice; Cup of Cool Water, which works with homeless youth; and Working Bikes, which redistributes bikes to communities in need. However, Ofo declined to share how many bikes would be repurposed.
Pictures taken earlier this month of a bike graveyard in Dallas sparked concern that Ofo’s bright yellow bikes could meet a similar fate in Seattle. Hundreds of Ofo bikes were seen stacked at a Texas recycling facility after the company announced it was pulling out of Dallas.
Ofo said in a statement it recycles bikes that are “beyond repair,” and one recycling facility in South Seattle said it occasionally processes the yellow bikes.
Limebike, which is the only bikeshare left in Seattle after Spin announced it was leaving, said in a statement it tries to re-use as many bike parts as possible on spent bicycles before recycling.
