bicycle sharing has been implemented in many towns and cities to support public transportation . most of these bicycle sharing programs encounter problems related to vandalism , theft , and the high cost of maintenance . to address these issues , some bicycle sharing programs require the user to leave a deposit or identification to prevent bicycle theft . this system relies on employees to monitor the identities of individuals who rent bicycles at rental locations , and therefore the number of locations that the public can rent bicycles from is limited due to cost . attempts to deter theft include the use of bicycles with non - removable parts and unique visual appearances , which limit their utility outside of the bicycle sharing program . recent bicycle sharing programs have attempted to eliminate the need for active management by employing “ smart ” terminals that track the status of rented bicycles . these terminals can track variables related to individual rental bicycles , such as whether a bicycle has been rented and when it has been returned . if a bicycle is never returned , the system can automatically charge the renter for the cost of the bicycle . while current automated systems are an appealing method of bicycle sharing , the system has not been widely implemented due to the high cost of the “ smart ” bicycle terminals . the inventors conducted additional research and discovered that ˜ 80 % cost of bike sharing resides in the kiosk docking stations . based on this fact , the initial concept of removing the station was developed . further research showed that this concept is being considered by other inventors . the primary problem with this concept is that these systems do not allow for walk up usage . hence , users have to already be members to use the bikes and have to either go to a website or text - in for a code to unlock a bike . this is a major issue as many cities creating bike sharing systems require the system to be accessible to all members of the community . the requirement of a phone to use the system prevents low income members of a community from being able to use the system . the inventors solve this issue by incorporating an electronic console with an integrated touch screen on the handle bars of the bike . this touch screen could then be used for allowing bike walk up rentals . additionally , the touch screen could be used to provide a better user experience through system information , maps , tours , and advertisements . incorporating the electronic console is difficult since systems cannot require any external power . all power must come from some renewable source that is on bike or at the station . touchscreens require large amounts of power so creating a system that could run off of a bike solar panel or dynamo was a significant challenge . in addition to challenges with power , the on - bike touch screen system must be durable enough to survive on a bike . through additional inventor research , several key issues arose that had prevented station - less systems from becoming popular in the market place . for example , a station - less system is not as secure as there is no guarantee that the on - bike lock module is locked to anything . furthermore since a station - less bike can lock to any object , there is concern about branding and ease of customer identification . the above three issues are deal - breakers to communities . the present system and method utilizes a “ dumb rack ” concept to overcome the problems cited above . the rack is configured to allow only qualified bicycles to become secured to it . this innovation creates a system and method that enables the branding , structure , and security to match stationed systems but came at half of the cost . the challenge of creating a dumb rack is to create a securing device which is both robust and unobtrusive enough to fit on a bicycle . due to the torsional forces that a bicycle can apply to a lock module , several iterations of experimentation were required to design a lock module which met the requirements . on - going successful experimental testing of the system and method is taking place in lansing , mich . with recent developments in mobile technology , it is becoming increasingly economical to employ telematic systems in transportation . a system of bicycle sharing that successfully implements recent developments in mobile technology will offer the benefits associated with a “ smart ” terminal , but without as prohibitively high costs associated with such terminals . such a system will make bicycle sharing a much more viable method of public transportation in towns and cities throughout the world . the bike share system described herein may include a plurality of bicycles and an open - frame bike rack for parking the plurality of bicycles . each bicycle of the plurality may contain one component half of a locking mechanism , which corresponds to another half component of the locking mechanism located on the open - frame bike rack . each of the plurality of bicycles may be locked or unlocked to the open - frame rack through signaling governed by an electronic console located on each of the plurality of bicycles . a battery mounted to the bicycles may serve as the power source for the electronic console . the battery may be recharged using solar cells , power generated through the mechanical motion of the bicycle , or power routed through the bicycle rack . bike - share bicycle refers to a bicycle for use in the bicycle sharing system . a bicycle may , for example , be defined as any two wheel pedal driven vehicle , or two wheeled vehicle powered completely or partially by an electric or carbon fuel based motor . in addition to the standard components of a bicycle , the bike - share bicycle may also include an electronic console , a battery for powering the electronic console , one or more means of charging the battery , and a locking mechanism that allows the bike - share bicycle to be locked onto the open - frame bicycle rack . in one embodiment , the bicycles used in the bike - share system should be reliable , sturdy and easily identifiable by a particular color scheme . one method of producing bike - share bicycles is by modifying existing commercial pedal - driven bicycles . the africabike 3 ®, available from kona , is one example of a suitable bicycle that may be modified for use in the bike share system . specific modifications to commercial bicycles may include modifying the bicycle frame so that any wiring running between the electronic console , power source , and locking mechanism is housed inside the frame of the bicycle ; including a sturdy basket on the frame of the bicycle for transporting items ; and attaching a leashing mechanism to the seat post of the bicycle so that the seat cannot be easily removed . an alternative means of producing bike - share bicycles is by creating a custom bicycle . fig1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the system with two secured bicycles . it shows an embodiment including two bike - share bicycles 101 locked onto an open - frame bicycle rack 102 . the open - frame bicycle rack 102 described within refers to a bicycle rack that is designed to lock only bike - share bicycles . while the rack may be embodied in various shapes , one embodiment of the bicycle rack contains opposed upstanding arms 103 that form an open front slot . the open front slot , which contains no closed loops , prevents bicycles that are not bike - share bicycles from being locked onto the open - frame bicycle rack 102 . this design helps prevent private bicycles from being effectively locked to the rack because common bicycle locks cannot be used to lock bicycles onto the open - frame bicycle rack 102 as the lock could be slid past the upstanding arm 103 . the open - frame bicycle rack 102 also includes a complementing half - component 105 of the locking mechanisms used to secure bike - share bicycles to the rack , which allows the locking mechanism ( not clearly shown ) on the bike - share bicycle to be locked on the open - frame bicycle rack 102 . fig2 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the system with more than two secured bicycles . in this embodiment , the open - frame bicycle rack 102 consists of multiple upstanding arms defining multiple open front slots sized to receive a bike - share bicycle wheel rim and tire . the opposing upstanding arms park the bicycles 101 vertically . the open - frame bicycle rack 102 can be made of aluminum , or any other sturdy and durable material . in another embodiment , the open - frame bicycle rack consists of modular locking units . each modular locking unit consists of one pair of opposed upstanding arms defining an open front slot sized to receive a bicycle wheel rim and tire . the opposing upstanding arms park the bicycles vertically . the open - frame bicycle rack can be made of aluminum , or any other suitable material . the modular locking units can be assembled together to form an open - frame bicycle rack of variable length . fig3 shows a side view of the system with a secured bicycle . it shows an embodiment including a single bike - share bicycle 101 that is locked onto the open - frame bicycle rack 102 . locking mechanism 301 refers to the means by which bike - share bicycles are secured to the open - frame bicycle rack . one half - component of the locking mechanism 301 is affixed to the arms of the open - frame bicycle rack 103 while the corresponding half of the locking mechanism is attached to the bike - share bicycles 101 . fig4 shows a magnified view of the secured portion of the system with a secured bicycle . in this embodiment of the locking mechanism , the male half component 401 of each locking mechanism is attached to the arm 103 of an open - frame bicycle rack 102 and the female half - component 402 is attached to the bike - share bicycle 101 . the male half - component 401 does not require a power source , whereas the female half - component 402 requires a power source to send signals indicating lock status to the electronic console and to release the male half - component 401 upon receiving a signal to do so from an electronic console . the lock is released , or unlocked , when the female half - component of the locking mechanism 402 receives a signal from the electronic console that causes the male half - component 401 to be disengaged from the female half - component 402 of the lock . fig5 shows a magnified view of a locking mechanism embodiment on the bicycle . in fig5 , the female half - component 402 is shown without the male half - component 401 of the locking mechanism attached . fig5 also illustrates that the locking mechanism may manifest different outward appearances without affecting the overall function of the locking mechanism . in another embodiment , the locking mechanism includes a mechanical or electronic sensor in the female half - component of the locking mechanism . when the male half - component of the locking mechanism is engaged with the female half - component , the sensor sends a signal to the electronic console , which allows the electronic console to detect whether the bike - share bicycle is locked onto the open - frame bicycle rack . the following example is provided to further illustrate one embodiment of the function of the locking mechanism . first , the bicycle - share bicycle is locked to the open - frame bicycle rack , and the female half - component of the locking mechanism is engaged to the male half - component . next , the user of the bicycle sharing program activates the electronic console , and rents the bicycle through the electronic console . once the user initiates the rental period of the bike - share bicycle , the electronic console sends an unlock signal to the female half - component of the locking mechanism , which , upon receiving the signal , will release the male half - component of the locking mechanism . after the female half - component of the locking mechanism releases the male half - component of the locking mechanism , the bike - share bicycle is no longer locked to the open - frame bicycle rack , and the user is free to remove the bike - share bicycle from the open - frame bicycle rack . in the same embodiment of the locking mechanism , when the user returns the bike - share bicycle , the user positions the male half - component of the locking mechanism into the female half - component of the locking mechanism . the female half - component of the locking mechanism automatically engages the male half - component , and locks the bike - share bicycle to the open - frame bicycle rack . a sensor in the bike - share bicycle detects that the lock is engaged and sends a corresponding signal to the electronic console . fig6 shows one embodiment of an electronic console . electronic console 601 refers to may be a telematic device and computing environment integrated to the bike - share bicycle . the electronic console 601 , which can communicate wirelessly with remote servers and databases , also controls the locking mechanism on the bike - share bicycle and enables the bike - share bicycle to be locked or released from the open - frame bicycle rack . the electronic console 601 can be attached to the bicycle using bolts that run through the frame along with welds to the frame or by other fasteners as appropriate . one example of a suitable electronic console is the samsung epic 4g ® phone . this device may be modified to be powered by a battery which is recharged by means of a power source such as a solar power cell located on the bike - share bicycles , power generated by the mechanical motion of the bicycle , or power routed through the bicycle rack that could be transmitted to the bicycle through the locking cable or alternative means . the electronic console can 601 provide a user interface , connectivity to the database , communication to the locking mechanism , location tracking capabilities , and payment transaction hardware such as a credit card reader . additional embodiments of the electronic console include features that will guide the user through the transaction of renting the bike - share bicycle by describing the payment structure and providing a walk - through of the rental process ; provide membership services such as sign - up and viewing membership information ; provide location based services such as finding points of interest ; provide route finding ; find the location of other open - frame bicycle racks ; deliver advertisements that depend on the current location of the bicycle ; show predefined guided tours ; track the duration and distance rode ; track the location of the bike - share bicycle ; provide help options ; show directions to any destination ; and contact customer service . fig8 schematically depicts component elements of an embodiment of a bike - sharing system of the present disclosure . wireless communication device 801 is in communication with central server 802 . in an additional embodiment , the electronic console will communicate with a remote server to wireless communication device 801 may transmit information related to the location of the bicycle , the information entered by the users of the bicycle , maintenance information of the bicycle , and other information related to the individual bicycle . wireless communication device 801 may also lock or unlock a locking mechanism 806 in response to a signal from central server 802 . in another embodiment , the electronic console will communicate with a remote server which provides a website or application 804 . in some embodiments , central server 802 can convey information to the public , preferably through the website and / or an application 804 to be viewed on private mobile devices . the electronic console will may transmit the location where bike - share bicycles can be found , the number available , the location of the closest bike - share bicycle , the transaction history of individual renters , and statistics on rental history . central server 802 may also communicate with an administrative website 805 through which the similar information may be accessed by system administrators or managers . central server 802 may also communicate with at least one financial institution 803 to verify payment information entered into wireless communication device 801 . this process will be described in more detail in conjunction with fig9 . central server 802 may of course communicate with other entities or servers as appropriate . fig9 is a data flow diagram . it shows a method for employing a bike - share system . another aspect of the present disclosure includes a method of conducting a bicycle rental , the method may comprise the steps of 901 ) equipping a plurality of bicycles each with a ) a wireless communication device ; b ) a battery to power the electronic console ; c ) one half of a locking mechanism ; 902 ) providing an open frame bike rack for parking the plurality of bicycles , the rack containing the corresponding other halves of the locking mechanisms 903 ) establishing a central monitoring and control system on a remote computer ; 904 ) receiving a signal initiated by a prospective customer from a wireless communication device on a bicycle ; 905 ) storing bits of information contained in the received signal in the database of the computer ; 906 ) comparing said stored information to information contained in the database ; 907 ) if the stored information does not match existing data , 908 creating a new account for the customer and proceeding to the next step ; or if the stored information does match existing data , proceeding to the next step ; 909 ) sending a signal to the wireless communication device to unlock the bicycle for use by the prospective consumer or lock the bicycle to the open frame rack to conclude a consumer &# 39 ; s use of the bicycle . fig1 is a logic flow chart that depicts one embodiment of how a locking mechanism responds to user inputs on the electronic console . it shows a method of operating a bike sharing system according to the present disclosure , and will be described in conjunction with fig9 . a user accesses an electronic console and enters payment information 1001 . the electronic console may be wireless communication device . the payment information may be entered using methods known in the art , including but not limited to swiping a credit card , typing in credit card information , or logging in using a unique name and password combination associated with a payment method . the console then transmits the payment information to an external server 1002 . the external server transmits the electronic payment information to an appropriate financial institution 1003 . the financial institution will determine whether to accept or decline the payment information 1004 . if the payment information is rejected , then the financial institution will transmit a payment rejection to the external server 1005 . the external server will then transmit a payment rejection message to the electronic console 1006 . the electronic console will then indicate to the user that payment has been rejected 1007 . this may include displaying a visual message or playing an audio cue , or other alerts as appropriate . if instead the payment information is accepted , then the financial institution will transmit a payment acceptance to the external server 1008 . the external server will then transmit a payment acceptance message to the electronic console , 1009 . the electronic console will then transmit an unlock signal to the component of the locking mechanism that is connected to the console 1010 . the component of the locking mechanism that is connected to the console will then mechanically disengage from the component that is connected to the rack , thus releasing the bicycle from the rack 1011 . fig1 shows a locking mechanism embodiment . shown are a prong 1101 , housing cover 1102 , spring 1103 , pin 1104 , servo 1105 , and housing 1106 . fig1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a locking arm with a prong . shown are a locking arm 1201 and a prong 1202 . fig7 is a block diagram of a typical computing environment used for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure . fig7 shows a computing environment 700 , which can include but is not limited to , a housing 701 , processing unit 702 , volatile memory 703 , non - volatile memory 704 , a bus 705 , removable storage 706 , non - removable storage 707 , a network interface 708 , ports 709 , a user input device 710 , and a user output device 711 . various embodiments of the present subject matter can be implemented in software , which may be run in the environment shown in fig7 or in any other suitable computing environment . the embodiments of the present subject matter are operable in a number of general - purpose or special - purpose computing environments . some computing environments include personal computers , server computers , hand - held devices ( including , but not limited to , telephones and personal digital assistants ( pdas ) of all types , ipods , and ipads ), laptop devices , tablet devices , multi - processors , microprocessors , set - top boxes , programmable consumer electronics , network computers , minicomputers , mainframe computers , distributed computing environments , and the like to execute code stored on a computer readable medium . the embodiments of the present subject matter may be implemented in part or in whole as machine - executable instructions , such as program modules that are executed by a computer . generally , program modules include routines , programs , objects , components , data structures , and the like to perform particular tasks or to implement particular abstract data types . in a distributed computing environment , program modules may be located in local or remote storage devices . a general computing device , in the form of a computer , may include a processor , memory , removable storage , non - removable storage , bus , and a network interface . a computer may include or have access to a computing environment that includes one or more user input modules , one or more user output modules , and one or more communication connections such as a network interface card or a usb connection . the one or more output devices can be a display device of a computer , computer monitor , tv screen , plasma display , lcd display , display on a digitizer , display on an electronic tablet , display on a cell phone , display on a smart phone , and the like . the computer may operate in a networked environment using the communication connection to connect one or more remote computers . a remote computer may include a personal computer , server , router , network pc , a peer device or other network node , and / or the like . the communication connection may include a local area network ( lan ), a wide area network ( wan ), and / or other networks . memory may include volatile memory and non - volatile memory . a variety of computer - readable media may be stored in and accessed from the memory elements of a computer , such as volatile memory and non - volatile memory , removable storage and non - removable storage . computer memory elements can include any suitable memory device ( s ) for storing data and machine - readable instructions , such as read only memory ( rom ), random access memory ( ram ), erasable programmable read only memory ( eprom ), electrically erasable programmable read only memory ( eeprom ), hard drive , removable media drive for handling compact disks ( cds ), digital video disks ( dvds ), diskettes , magnetic tape cartridges , memory cards , memory sticks , and the like . memory elements may also include chemical storage , biological storage , and other types of data storage . “ processor ” or “ processing unit ” as used herein , means any type of computational circuit , such as , but not limited to , a microprocessor , a microcontroller , a complex instruction set computing ( cisc ) microprocessor , a reduced instruction set computing ( risc ) microprocessor , a very long instruction word ( vliw ) microprocessor , an explicitly parallel instruction computing ( epic ) microprocessor , a graphics processor , a digital signal processor , program logic controller ( plc ), field programmable gate array ( fpga ), or any other type of processor or processing circuit . the term also includes embedded controllers , such as generic or programmable logic devices or arrays , application specific integrated circuits , single - chip computers , smart cards , and the like . embodiments of the present subject matter may be implemented in conjunction with program modules , including functions , procedures , data structures , application programs , etc . for performing tasks , or defining abstract data types or low - level hardware contexts . all patents and publications mentioned in the prior art are indicative of the levels of those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains . all patents and publications are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference , to the extent that they do not conflict with this disclosure . while the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments , it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the disclosed or illustrated embodiments but , on the contrary , is intended to cover numerous other modifications , substitutions , variations , and broad equivalent arrangements .