The Embarcadero Bikestation, now operated by Alameda Bicycle and is known as the Embarcadero Bike Hub, was burglarized afterhours. I was sent the following:
Bike and wheel stolen past weekend
This past weekend, the Embarcadero Bike Hub had an incident of theft. One client had a wheel stolen, and another had an entire bike stolen. As there was no forced entry, we suspect it was from a client with keys to the facility.
As many of you know, the previous operators (Bikestation) made a decision to give out keys to those with 24-hour access membership once the system went down. Unfortunately, the acting manager did not write down those with keys and (from second-hand information) gave out keys without checking to ensure they were members.
Our morning shift operator, Eric Yu, also worked for Bikestation. Ever since keys were handed out, he’s witnessed more vandalism, theft, and other nuisances during off-hours. He suspects that keys were handed out to the wrong people or were duplicated and given out to others.
Regardless, after this recent incident BART has agreed with us to go ahead with changing the lock immediately.
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What now?
Effective immediately, current keys will not work. We will issue replacement keys to those who are designated as Bikestation 24-access members only.
We will determine members based on the list that Bikestation gave us. Any discrepancies should be resolved by contacting bikestation.org.
Come by with proper picture ID during staffed hours (7:30 am – 9:30 am and 3:30 pm – 7:30 pm). If you are not on the list, you WILL NOT be given a replacement key. We apologize for the inconvenience to all, and especially to those who are not on the list, but this is the only way to ensure utmost security to all our patrons.
The cost for each key is $3.50. As a courtesy, we will cover the expense.
For those who are not on the list and want keys, go to our Fruitvale Bike Hub (adjascent to Fruitvale Bart Station in the Fruitvale Village – it’s along the outer perimeter parallel to the BART tracks). Our hours there are 6:00 am – 8:00 pm. The fee will be $20, which will be used for future membership once our 24-hour access is delivered. Once again, sorry for this step. But without a secure register area, we cannot hold cash here (this will be installed by the end of September).
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eLock Technologies, makers of the electronic bike lockers for BART, is currently in development of the new 24-hour access system. They anticipate a 12 week turnaround, meaning we won’t see a new system until mid-November at the earliest.
Once this is developed, all members will have to pay for the new access card (those who pay $20 for a key now will pay the difference, if any).
We hope this will be the last of theft incidents for the time being. We will secure security cameras also by the end of this month. Since we were not given a budget for stolen bike reimbursement, we cannot subsidize any thefts that may occur, so please lock your bike securely.
Once again, much apologies to all for the inconvenience.
Alameda Bicycle – Embarcadero Bike Hub
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email: gene@alamedabicycle.com
www.alamedabicycle.com