News

Bay Area Bike Share rolls out in San Fran

August 29, 2013

San Francisco's Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and its project partners today announced the launch of the Bay Area Bike Share pilot program.

Touted as a "last mile solution," the goal of the bike sharing pilot program is to make it more convenient for Bay Area residents to take public transit without taking their own bike onto the system. Instead, commuters could use bike share bicycles to reach their final destination, resulting in reduced air pollution in the areas served, according to a news release.

"We're excited to announce the launch of this pioneering regional bike share program," said Jack Broadbent, executive officer of the Air District. "This system brings it all together and makes connecting from public transportation to the workplace or other destination simple, convenient and fun."

The pilot will launch in two phases: The first phase deploys today with 700 bikes at 70 kiosks; the second deploys in Q1 2014, with the addition of 30 more kiosks and 300 more bikes — reaching the full pilot complement of 1,000 bikes and 100 stations.

The kiosk stations are located near transit hubs, high-density residential areas and key destination points such as employment centers and universities.

"The launch of Bay Area Bike Share is the first step in our city's efforts to build a world-class bike share system for San Francisco," said San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee. "Bay Area Bike Share will give San Francisco's residents and visitors access to a bike when they want one. It's an easy, convenient, affordable and healthy transportation option that we're eager to add to our transportation network, and we look forward to seeing Bay Area Bike Share transform the way we move around San Francisco."

Read more about outdoor kiosks.