For a brief period following the turn of the millennium, many urban centers in the west (Seattle, Washington, Portland) had bicycle clubs who introduced a slew

For a brief period following the turn of the millennium, many urban centers in the west (Seattle, Washington, Portland) had bicycle clubs who introduced a slew of “green bikes” which were spray painted green and considered public domain. It was more an ideal than a productive measure. The painting and introduction of the bikes was one thing but maintenance was another. I knew a person who would repair them when he found broken ones, and I think it was briefly part of programming at certain bicycle co-ops. As the urban areas started growing again, tht effort came to an end, but I took many trips on green bikes myself. They were usually slow going and somewhat dangerous to ride, and of course one could not plan to find them later when left on the street. I had seen them locked up before but the understanding was breaking that lock wasn’t considered steeling because literally every part on the bike was spray painted green. The bikes were popular with people in their early twenties and homeless people. I never saw anyone using them whose appearance didn’t match these categories.