So long, Pronto.
Seattle's troubled bike-share system will be shutting down for good this Friday, a little more than two years after it rolled onto city streets.
Crews will begin taking down and packing up the program's 54 stations and 500 bikes on Monday, according to The Seattle Times. The process should take about two weeks, the Seattle Department of Transportation said (SDOT).
The equipment will be placed into storage while SDOT looks for cities who may want to buy it. Several cities - including Spokane, Pittsburgh, and Tulsa - have expressed interest, said Kyle Rowe, a Pronto bike share manager.
Since the service is partially city-owned and funded, there's no estimate yet on how much it might be sold for.
The closure comes after city leaders decided in January to allocate funds elsewhere from the controversial and money-draining city service.
While bike shares are booming in the U.S., according to traffic experts, it's been a different story in Seattle. Pronto launched in 2014 with $2.5 million private sponsorship and $1.75 million in state and federal money, but it was beset with challenges. Ridership floundered, and within a year city officials were pushing to take over the system, which was owned by a non-profit.
After the city bought the bike-share, the city seemed ready to significantly invest in the system. But in January, Mayor Ed Murray announced a different course. He scrapped Pronto and said the $3 million budgeted for the bike-share would instead be used for pedestrian and bike projects.
