Bike Sharing Program

Bike Sharing is coming to the Bay Area
The San Mateo County Transit District is participating in a first-of-its-kind regional pilot bike-sharing program. Bay Area Bike Share is a self-service system that provides members with easy access to a network of bicycles. There will be 1,000 bicycles at more than 100 kiosk stations along the Peninsula corridor in San Francisco, Redwood City, Palo Alto, Mountain View, and San Jose. Members will be able to check out a bike close to home or work and return it to any of the kiosk stations.

View the Bike Share location map HERE.

This pilot program will promote bicycles as a first- and last-mile transportation alternative for commuters and residents taking all forms of transit.  Increased bicycling will reduce driving trips and greenhouse gas emissions and improve local air quality. In the Bay Area, the transportation sector accounts for more than 50 percent of air pollution. Significant emission reductions from the transportation sector will help the Bay Area attain and maintain state and national air quality standards and reduce greenhouse gases.

How Bike Share Works
Similar to car sharing, bicycle sharing is a membership-based system for short-term bicycle rental. Members can check a bicycle out from a network of bike kiosks, ride to their destination, and return the bicycle to any kiosk in the system. During the pilot program, kiosks will be located at key destinations (transit hubs, shopping centers, employment areas, parks, and community centers) within the cities participating in the program. Bicycle sharing is enjoying a global explosion in growth with the use of comfortable commuter bicycles and user-friendly technologies. Members will likely be able to join for daily, weekly, monthly, and annual rates; and can become a member on-line or at a kiosk using a credit card.

Program Partners
This regional pilot program, led by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, is funded through a combination of local, regional and federal grants. Major funding comes from a $4.3 million grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Innovative Bay Area Climate Initiatives Program. The total program cost is about $7 million, which includes a local match of $80,000 from the San Mateo County Transportation Authority, and $25,000 from the City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County.  Sponsorship opportunities will be available once the program is launched.

Program partners include San Mateo County Transit District, the City of Redwood City, the County of San Mateo, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.

Schedule
The goal is to select a bike share vendor in spring, 2012 and launch the service by early summer, 2012.  The pilot program will run for 12 months. The program will then be evaluated to determine whether the program should be continued and can be economically sustainable, whether through operating income, sponsorships, continued grant funding, or some other mechanism. The goal is to continue and expand the Bay Area Bike Share program following the pilot period.

What other North American cities have Bike Sharing programs?
Several cities in the U.S. and Canada are operating bike share programs.  Click on the cities to find out about their programs.

1/26/12 - ttc/rph/sc
Photo credit: Kevin Kovaleski, 2010; Karen Schkolnick, 2011