Upgraded Spokies Pedal-Only Bicycles Hit the Streets for Bike Month

May 25, 2023

As National Bike Month is being celebrated in May, EMBARK has returned 60 pedal-only bicycles in its Spokies Bike Share program back into service.

The Spokies fleet now includes 113 bikes total, with 53 electric-assist bikes (or E-bikes) and 60 pedal-only bikes. Following the introduction of E-bikes in 2022, EMBARK took the opportunity to refurbish and upgrade its pedal-only bicycles to bring them to modern standards. All bikes in the fleet are Drop Mobility smart bikes, enabling customers to choose a conveniently located bike and leave it at their destination within the Spokies service area, which stretches north-to-south from the Paseo Arts District to Capitol Hill and east-to-west from Plaza District to The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

Spokies pedal-only and E-bikes were recently featured at local Bike Month events including BikeFest sponsored by the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments.

“Cyclists have enjoyed Spokies bike share for more than a decade, and now the fleet is larger than ever and upgraded for an improved customer experience,” Assistant City Manager and EMBARK Administrator Jason Ferbrache said. “We are committed to a transportation system in Oklahoma City that works for everyone, and Spokies provides a critical mobility option and a way to experience the city in a new way while enjoying the health and environmental benefits of cycling.”

According to research from the University of Oxford, choosing a bike over a car just once a day can reduce the average person’s transportation-related emissions by 67%. The use of bicycles also reduces noise pollution. Cycling also provides great physical exercise. It not only burns calories, it builds strength and endurance, increases balance, improves joint mobility and has many other positive health benefits.

To use the bike share, download the Spokies mobile app found in the Apple or Google Play app store. With the app, users can find, unlock and activate a bike in a matter of seconds.

Frequent Spokies customers are encouraged to purchase annual or monthly passes. Annual passes are $120 per year and include 40 minutes of ride time per day with charges per minute over that amount. Monthly passes are $20 for 40 minutes of ride time per day. Day passes are $12 and include four hours of ride time.

Spokies launched in 2012 as the city’s only bike-share program in central Oklahoma. The bike share system provides people with an environmentally conscious, healthy, easy, accessible, and fun option for traveling throughout Oklahoma City’s urban core districts and commuting downtown, without dealing with parking. The service joined EMBARK’s family of services in 2014.