ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Sunday, January 26, 1997               TAG: 9701270118
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL   PAGE: A-1  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: AUSTIN, TEXAS
SOURCE: Associated Press

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION - ON 2 WHEELS

A nonprofit group put 24 yellow bicycles on the streets of Austin on Saturday, as the city joined a handful of U.S. cities that offer free transportation for those willing to pedal.

In a city where single-occupant cars outnumber yellow cabs, the bikes can be used by anyone to ride anywhere with one caveat - they must be left in the open, unlocked, so someone else can use them.

``It's free public transportation in the true sense of the word,'' said John Thoms, a volunteer for the Yellow Bike Project. ``They're free to ride, but not to hide.''

Community bike programs are popular in European cities and are now found in such U.S. cities as Portland, Ore.; Madison, Wis.; Charleston, S.C.; Missoula, Mont.; St. Paul, Minn.; Orlando, Fla.; and Denver and Boulder, Colo.

In Boulder, the city spent $20,000 to make 120 donated, green bikes available to the public. A few months later, only about 40 were still on the streets, but organizers still considered the program a success.

Thoms and Dave Barker, of the Bikes not Bombs organization, spent six months acquiring the bicycles. At a grocery store a few blocks from the University of Texas, Randy Ramirez and friend Colleen Morton picked up the first bikes.

``I heard about it on the radio earlier in the week, and I thought it would be a fun thing to do,'' Ramirez said. ``I figured the bikes were there, and they're for the general public to ride them, so why not me?''

Like a cab, the bicycle might not be around for its last rider.

``There's always that risk,'' Thoms said. ``But if people continue giving support, then you'll only have to walk a block or so and there will be another one.''

David Osborne hadn't heard about the project. But he, too, was eager to use a bike.

``This is a great idea,'' Osborne said. ``We have a couple of old bikes at home that never get used. This is a better use for them.''

Organizers have asked city officials to exempt Yellow Bike riders from a ordinance requiring cyclists to wear a helmet.

LENGTH: Short :   50 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  AP. Randy Ramirez wades through a sea of yellow 
          "community" bikes Saturday in Austin, Texas. The bikes are available
          for anyone to use, then leave for others. color.