News

Bike-share program pedals out in San Francisco

August 15, 2013

San Francisco's Bay Area Air Quality Management District and its project partners announced recently that the Bay Area Bike Share pilot program will launch at the end of August. The program will give the public access to shared bicycles 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at specific locations within the cities of San Francisco, Redwood City, Palo Alto, Mountain View and San Jose, according to the news release.

The pilot will launch in two phases. The first phase will deploy Aug. 29 with 700 bikes. For the second phase of the pilot, it is anticipated that 300 additional bikes and 30 kiosks will be added in the first quarter 2014 to reach the full pilot complement of 1,000 bikes and 100 kiosk stations.

"As a fan of two-pedal power myself, I have been heartened by the steady increase in cycling's popularity, especially for commuting. Cycling helps decrease both pollution and your waistline," said Santa Clara County Supervisor and Air District Director Ken Yeager. "Bike Share is the perfect way to run short errands around town or get to work from our busiest transit hubs."

The kiosk stations will be located near transit hubs, high-density residential areas and key destination points such as employment centers and universities, making it easier to quickly and conveniently connect to and from transit and to make short-distance trips by bike, the announcement said. Bike sharing may also help to reduce the need to take bikes on board regional and local transit, relieving congestion on those systems.

"As a multi-modal transit agency, SamTrans is proud to be a partner in promoting bike sharing in San Mateo County," said SamTrans Chair Carole Groom. "Bikes are the perfect way to bridge the last mile between transit hubs and home and work sites."

Read more about kiosks in transportation and travel.