Summer Development Update
The Oonee team is deeply committed to bringing equitable, secure bike parking networks to cities across the globe, starting in the New York and New Jersey area. As we move closer to our planned launches in the late Summer and early Fall, we’d like to take the opportunity to update our fellow community members on the progress that has been made since our last update in September of 2021.
As always, we look forward to your questions and feedback, please engage with us on social media @ooneepod or shoot us an e-mail at info@ooneepod.com
About Oonee
First, a quick refresher on our work.
Oonee is a Black- and Brown-led Brooklyn-based startup that is working to bring networks of secure bike parking to urban areas. Simply put, we believe that secure cycle parking should be ubiquitous, free and convenient. In most American cities, up to half of all car trips are under 3 miles — by creating a compelling infrastructure network, we can transition many of those to bicycles.
As progressive mobility advocates, who believe that urban cycling is critical to the transportation future of cities. We approach this work from a 360-degree framework: working with communities to plan, design, manufacture and install massive networks of free secure bike parking facilities. We’re committed to doing it the right way, by pairing best practices in design, planning, operations and technology with innovative financial methods and private capital.
Network Expansion
We’ve been working closely with Jersey City after winning a contract to build the nation’s first municipal bike parking network. We will have news on this year’s inaugural locations soon!
A majority of this post will be dedicated to the technology and design that will underpin our launches with the Port Authority, Jersey City and Brightline.
Design and Infrastructure
A versatile array of infrastructure designs are essential to achieving real scale within an urban region. For example, some areas may only have curbside space available, while others may have narrow sidewalk real estate. In other parts of a city, plazas and unused spaces could host medium sized stations that could serve hundreds.
For these reasons, we have developed a product line that features five different offerings across three broad categories. Each of these infrastructure products are modular and can work independently or together to form a massive public parking network.
Low-Density Designs
Low-density designs are intended for use in areas where demand is generally lower, or space is at a premium. Capacity ranges between five and 18 bicycles for this class, with greater figures possible through grouping.
Oonee Dock: Elegant, theft resistant racks that can fit anywhere
Meet the Oonee Dock! Developed in partnership with Bikeep, the Oonee Dock is an incredibly simple and easy to use parking rack that is perfect for plazas, sidewalks and curbs.
Features include a securitized locking arm that is controlled via app or keycard. These locking arms are compatible with most models of bicycles, including delivery bikes and cargo bikes. If the locking arm is breached, the Oonee Dock will sound an alarm.
Thanks to advanced Bikeep technology, Oonee users will be able to determine which spaces are available ahead of time.
Docks can be paired with a beautifully designed canopy, which offers protection from the elements.
Oonee Mini: The Most Advanced Curbside Parking Solution
After launching the Oonee Mini last year with then-Borough President Eric Adams, and undergoing extensive trials in several neighborhoods in partnership with NYCDOT, we’re happy to unveil the full production model of the Mini. We’ve used the lessons learned from these historic trials to refine and perfect the design.
Enhancements include:
- Beautifully designed options for traffic buffering
- Options for perforation that allow for partial visibility into the interior.
- Interior lighting for easy night time loading
- More reliable exterior lighting
- Optional side reflectors for improved visibility
- Added capacity (room for 8 bicycles)
- A new option for longer/bigger bicycles
Designed for curbside use, especially in residential areas, the Mini and tested on the streets of New York and Paris, the Mini is available now and ready to ship. Like all other designs, the Mini can function individually or as part of a greater network.
Perfected on the Streets of New York
The Mini was iterated on the streets of New York in partnership with the city’s Department of Transportation. The pilot included month-long stints in five neighborhoods across three boroughs.
- Meatpacking District
- Lower East Side
- Union Square
- Vanderbilt Avenue, Brooklyn
- 31st Avenue Queens
To date, the Mini pilot has served hundreds of cyclists and our team has engaged in demonstrations with hundreds more in the community. The Mini has also proven its durability, having withstood a violent car impact and the general rigors of New York City Streets.
Quick Stats:
- 500+ individual sign ups
- 300+ individual demonstrations for the general public
- 750+ requests and suggestions received for Mini placements
- No community complaints or security incidents
- No bicycles stolen
Medium-Density Designs
Medium-density designs are the sweet spot for many mixed use and commercial areas that have increasing demand for cycle parking, but may lack room for a larger facility. Our medium-density secure parking designs are modular and can combine between 16–80 spaces depending on the need and available real estate.
Though this may seem like a smaller amount in the context of dense urban neighborhoods, a dispersed network of these deployments can quickly add real capacity to a community. Medium-density designs can effectively compliment a larger core facility, or when properly dispersed, can supplement lower density designs to form the bulk of a community’s capacity.
Oonee Pod
We’ve redesigned the Oonee Pod from the ground up, with hundreds of innovations and refinements. The Pod is designed to thrive in marquee urban environments with variable cladding options, digital screen integration for sponsored content and PSAs and premium materials such as glass. The Pod will be utilized in our upcoming Jersey City and Port Authority deployments, with the first few starting construction last month.
For high profile locations, the use of digital screens can generate substantially more sponsored content revenue while using much less space.
An optional elevated attachment can house smart city sensors like 5G, pedestrian counting and other elements that can help with economic development.
Oonee Lite
First announced in 2021, we’ve reached production-ready status on the Oonee Lite. The Lite is specifically designed for simplicity, durability and cost effectiveness but incorporating the same panache as its cousin the Pod. Manufactured with options for solar panels and leveling, the Lite is the perfect solution for locations where digital advertising may not be suitable or appropriate.
High-Density Designs and the Oonee Hub
Finally, we’re glad to share an update on the Oonee Hub. The Hub is a Dutch style high-capacity secure parking center that is designed to fully integrate into a new or existing building. Although each Hub is different, our kit of parts is standardized and can be used to make any space into a warm, friendly and functional secure bike parking center.
Hubs are designed to park a minimum of 100 bicycles, with larger facilities including integrations with shared micromobility services and hosting bicycle repair and maintenance shops.
Although these facilities are orders of magnitude more expensive to construct than their lower density counterparts, there is a way forward in most cities; zoning exceptions. In New York City, for example, hundreds of buildings go through ULURP each year and often assemble community benefit agreements (“CBA”) packages that help improve community life around the development. In some cases, the CBAs can include millions of dollars in transit improvements; Manhattan’s One Vanderbilt, for example, provided $250 million in transit upgrades for the adjacent Grand Central Terminal.
Secure bike parking facilities, in this context, are quite cheap. We work with communities, sponsors and developers to include these massive facilities as part of major developments and then operate the facility under contract with the developer. Utilizing this approach, we see a realistic pathway to the construction of hundreds of such facilities in cities across the country.
Both of these facilities are located adjacent to the transit centers, thus increasing the potential for multi-modal commutes.
New Technology
Each of our future facilities will come with technology designed to make travel by bicycle practical, accessible and seamless. First, assisted-lift racks will be standard in all deployments that use the vertical orientation.
The Oonee Lift can quickly hoist even the heaviest e-bikes thanks to a mechanical lift assist mechanism thus eliminating the physical burden that is often experienced with vertical racks. The Oonee Lift was tested for a year at our Barclays Center station, with additional units going into service in Journal Square.
We’re also preparing to launch smart racks in beta. These racks will eliminate the need for cyclists to carry heavy locks with them and will allow us to accurately count the number of bicycles in the Pod at any given time; information that will be shared with users.
The Oonee Lift was piloted at our existing stations in Downtown Brooklyn and Jersey City
Oonee OS
In the 21st Century, software is an essential part of infrastructure. We’re happy to announce the development of Oonee OS, the software system that will power all of our infrastructure designs.
For users, Oonee OS will be available via a convenient mobile app and desktop experience and will come packed with a number of features:
- Quick download and registration with a streamlined verification process
- Cyclists will quickly be able to find and use parking at any station in the network
- Real time capacity of the stations will enable cyclists to plan ahead
- Automatic bicycle registration with Bike ID
- Optional bicycle insurance for theft and crash coverage
- A marketplace with essential goods and services that can be delivered to the stations in the network or elsewhere
For cities and property owners, Oonee OS will also offer powerful planning and monitoring tools:
- Real Time system utilization data
- AI generated recommendations for network expansion
- Demographic information on system usage
- Security integration via API will provide property managers with the ability to connect to the system
- Access logs for security managers
- Management tools that enable property managers to directly add users and to actively manage locations on their properties.
Oonee OS will also enable us to share basic system data with the general public for greater transparency and accountability.
Oonee OS 1.0 will launch next month with an app available to users.
Web
To make navigating our offerings easier, we have launched two new websites: Oonee.us and Oonee.me.
Oonee.us will help communities and property owners better understand our product offerings, while Oonee.me will enable users to quickly sign up for access. We hope these redesigned web experiences will vastly improve the way that users and prospective partners interact with Oonee infrastructure.
Take a look and tell us what you think!
Simple Ownership
Starting this month, we’re making all low- and medium-density models available via Oonee Simple Ownership.
With simple ownership, properties pay a one-time down payment fee and then a monthly installment fee that includes operations, servicing, software, upgrades and maintenance over the term. At the end of the term, property owners or communities will have the option of paying off the balance and owning the units or swapping them out for newer models.
For example, a developer seeking to procure an Oonee Dock for a five-year term would pay a down payment of about 30% the cost of the infrastructure and installation and then $300 every month over the five-year term. Our team would handle everything from design customization and installation to management and operations, and the infrastructure would operate as part of the larger network.
We’ll have more to share on this front soon!
Seed Round
The above work was made possible by the successful completion of a seed round of capital in March that resulted in about $2.3 million in new financing for iteration and implementation. This figure includes:
- $1 million in crowd-investing from 1,051 investors (an average investment of $950)
- $1 million in non-dilutive project financing from Third Sphere
We’re blessed to make a little history along the way! Oonee is one of the first Black-led firms to cross $1,000,000 in crowd-investing and also one of the first micro-mobility firms to do the same.
Sponsorship Drive
As the New York network continues to grow, we’ll be looking for a long-term corporate sponsor to partner with. We’ll have more details on this rare opportunity soon, but if you have any tips on brands that might be a good fit, please drop us a line at info@ooneepod.com
