Bike sharing program ended by thefts

BOCA RATON, Fla., June 25 (UPI) -- The students behind Florida Atlantic University's bike-sharing program said all of its community-use Green Bikes have been stolen.

Alexander Van Mecl, 19, a member of FAU's sustainability committee, said the Green Bike system worked on the honor code -- find a bike not in use, ride it to your destination, and leave it -- but not all users were entirely honorable, the Palm Beach (Fla.) Post reported Thursday.

"They were done, it worked, and they got stolen," Van Mecl said. "You can think of hundreds of different scenarios as to why we don't have the bikes anymore. Kind of a depressing story."

Van Mecl said the sustainability committee is looking into methods of restarting the program in the spring with more safeguards in place to prevent theft.