diff --git a/src/main/java/org/opentripplanner/updater/bike_rental/BikeRentalUpdater.java b/src/main/java/org/opentripplanner/updater/bike_rental/BikeRentalUpdater.java
index b0640e21d04..18fc8b6fb47 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/opentripplanner/updater/bike_rental/BikeRentalUpdater.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/opentripplanner/updater/bike_rental/BikeRentalUpdater.java
@@ -133,6 +133,10 @@ protected void configurePolling (Graph graph, JsonNode config) throws Exception
 
     @Override
     public void setup() throws InterruptedException, ExecutionException {
+        while (graph.getVertices() == null) {
+            LOG.warn("Graph has no vertices. Sleeping 5 sec");
+            Thread.sleep(5000);
+        }
         // Creation of network linker library will not modify the graph
         linker = new SimpleStreetSplitter(graph);