bike sharing... via text message

A few weeks back, Smile Politely reported on a new bike sharing program in C-U: Grab-A-Bike.  Grab-A-Bike's still in the works, but other cities (and small towns) already have similar bike sharing programs up and running.  Smile Politely's article notes the logistical difficulties involved in dealing with maintenance and theft issues in bike sharing programs.

A bike sharing program at Emory University in Atlanta has come up with one solution: using text messages as a virtual key to unlock the bikes.  From The Chronicle of Higher Ed:

Students in Emory University's bike-sharing program will soon be able to unlock the bikes they want to use by sending a text message. The university will replace its current system, which requires manually checking out a key, with the automatic one, developed by students at the nearby Georgia Institute of Technology.

Each bike in the new "viaCycle" fleet will be equipped with a GPS and locking system. When students or employees want to use a bike, they will send a text message with the bike's identification number to a server. The server will forward the request to the bike and unlock it automatically. After using the bike, the rider will use an attached cable to secure it anywhere and send another text message to lock it.

More at the Chronicle's Wired Campus blog.