Many consider the rental bikes littering Dallas and its suburbs a rousing success, allowing for easy rental and transportation of the two-wheeled vehicles. However, concerns about the bikes and their system have arose, citing concerns about bikes being left where they shouldn’t be.

Under the current system, once someone is finished with a bike, they are allowed to leave it for someone else to rent and use. However, flaws with the system have quickly showed up, as bikes have often been left in undesirable places, such as private and city property. While the city of Dallas would still prefer to encourage the bikes and discourage people from leaving the bikes where they shouldn’t be, Highland Park, which isn’t a part of the program and technically should not have bikes, is taking a different approach – punishing the rental bike companies when a bike is left on city property.

“We have asked the companies to voluntarily beef up their efforts to pick them up every day,” Bill Lindley, Highland Park’s town administrator, said. “We’ve seen mixed results from those efforts. The council felt like adopting an ordinance with penalties would get their attention and force them to do a better job of collecting these bikes and taking them back to Dallas.”

Rent-a-bikes left overnight on city property will be taken by the city, and it will cost the rent-a-bike companies to reclaim them. It will cost them $30 for the first offense and $100 for each subsequent offense. If not reclaimed for 15 days, the bikes will be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Joel Williams, mayor of Highland Park, calls the program, which started last week, a success.

“I’m really encouraged about the response we’re getting from the bike sharing companies,” Williams said. “Their response is responsible. We’re not really having problems.” Various bike-share companies have been affected by this law. Currently, the city is owed $800 by them.

The ordinance states that the “owner of the bike will be responsible, regardless of the operator.”