TULSA, Okla. — This Machine Tulsa, a local bike share nonprofit, is dealing with nearly $30,000 in damage to more than a dozen bikes. Executive Director Katie Sawicki says it happened after a weekend theft and vandalism spree.
“It was a shock,” Sawicki said. “In our four years, this is our first major incident and our first at the river.”
Employees at This Machine Tulsa discovered broken pieces and bent wheels up and down the River Parks Trails when they were doing the daily service of their bicycles both Saturday and Sunday.
Throughout Tulsa and Broken Arrow, the non-profit has about 300 bikes. Fifteen of them were badly damaged or stolen outright this weekend.
“We’re still in shock,” Sawicki said. “It’s a hard thing to process, and we’re still assessing the damages.”
Each of the bikes costs around $2,000. Sawicki says the theft and vandalism are the worst they’ve ever seen.
“We’re just out here trying to provide alternative transportation," Sawicki said. “Trying to provide fitness. This really does interrupt our ability to operate.”
Sawicki says this weekend’s theft is normally what they see in an entire year, and it comes after they just finished replacing 8 bikes that were taken in the first weeks of December.
“It’s probably going to take us a year to order the parts with the supply chain difficulties, get all that in, and get everything back on the street and not to mention paying for it all."
They’re looking for community donations to help, and they’ll plan a fundraiser to pay for the bikes and missing parts. If you see any of the damaged bikes, you can contact This Machine Tulsa at 918-392-7634 or support@thismachinetulsa.org.
Trending Stories:
- Third grader located safely after missing from school for nearly two hours
- DOWNLOAD the 2 News Oklahoma app for alerts
- Tulsa family remembers woman gunned down over traffic incident
- FOLLOW 2 News Oklahoma on Facebook
- Tulsa police warn drivers of social media-inspired car thefts
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Twitter
