Question: Are there age limits for those Biki bikes?
Q: Auwe! We were making headway on helmets and now I see people on those turquoise bikes all over riding without helmets.
Q: Aren’t the blue bikes supposed to be for around Waikiki? I didn’t expect to see tourists riding them on Kalanianaole Highway.
Answer: We’ll answer these all at once, since they all seem to refer to Biki, the bikeshare program in Honolulu that rents out distinctive light-blue bikes as an alternative form of public transportation.
The Biki website lists a minimum age for rental (16) but not a maximum one.
It says: “Biki is for everyone 16 and over who is capable of riding a bike, even if you don’t bike now. … Whether you’re a resident, visitor, working professional or student, there is a trip in your day that Biki can help you with.”
That minimum age means that Hawaii’s helmet law does not apply. State law prohibits anyone under 16 from operating a bicycle on a street, bikeway or any other public property unless the person is wearing a “properly fitted and fastened bicycle helmet” that has been tested by a nationally recognized agency and is designed to protect against head trauma.
Biki encourages everyone who uses its bikes to wear helmets, but it’s not required.
As for the location question, Biki’s 1,000 bikes are docked at 100 stations that extend from downtown Honolulu to Waikiki. That’s Biki’s “service area,” but it doesn’t mean that the bikes can’t be ridden elsewhere — the wheels don’t lock up like shopping carts leaving a grocery-store lot.
Even though Biki bikes travel like regular bikes, customers are generally advised not to wander too far, because they have to return the bike to a docking station within the service area. Plus, depending on their payment plan, customers may incur additional usage fees after a certain amount of time elapses, according to the website.
Q: Wasn’t there a report about the problems at the state hospital a few years ago, long before this killer escaped?
A: Yes, you may be referring to the “Special Action Team Report to the Governor” that was completed in October 2012, during the Abercrombie administration. It described the mental-health facility in Kaneohe as crowded and beset by high staff turnover and low morale. You can read it at 808ne.ws/hshreport, keeping in mind that the report is 5 years old. Meanwhile, Randall Saito, the patient who escaped Sunday, was captured Wednesday in California.
Auwe
On Nov. 5, I witnessed a middle-aged woman pull up to the sidewalk in a dark gray Jeep Patriot adjacent to the Costco Waipio food court, stop (blocking a lane of traffic) and wait while her male passenger got out and made his way to the drink dispensers.
He had a quart-sized insulated drink container in hand. I thought surely he wouldn’t steal the soda and was helping himself to water instead.
But auwe, he filled up his flask with soda, then walked back to the Jeep and left. The food court was really busy so the staff probably didn’t see him.
I didn’t confront the man because I didn’t want to get hurt. But I did report the incident in detail to the Costco Customer Service manager, including the vehicle’s license plate. Shame on this man for stealing. Stealing hurts everyone. — Appalled customer
Mahalo
Mahalo to Scott H., who witnessed my minor car accident in the parking lot of Nanding’s Bakery in Kapahulu, and stepped forward to tell the investigator who had caused the accident. This prevented a he-said-she-said scenario, which would have dragged out the investigation. Scott was an extremely credible witness. Mahalo! — Ed from Kapahulu
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
