Bay Area Launches Bike Share Program
Commuters can now find another way to get around, whether it’s in the South Bay, up and down the Peninsula or in San Francisco, with the launch of the Bay Area Bike Share program.
More than 600 bikes are now parked at kiosks in San Francisco, Redwood City, San Jose, Mountain View and Palo Alto. The bikes are mainly stationed near transit hubs and popular destinations. Users can pay for either a 24-hour pass, 3-day pass or 1-year membership, that entitles them to check out the bike for 30 minutes. Longer trips cost extra.
The annual membership costs $88, 3-day pass is $22 and 24-hour pass is $9. There will soon be a pay-by-month plan as well. Overtime fees are $4 for trips between 31 and 60 minutes and $7 for each additional 30 minutes.
The hope is for commuters to take public transit to work, then use the bikes for the trip from the transit stop to their workplace. In the spring, an additional 300 bikes will be made available at kiosks in the five cities.
Alta Bike Share, based in Portland, is overseeing the more than $11 million program. The company operates bike share programs in the Washington, D.C. area, Boston metro region, Melbourne, Australia, Chattanooga, Tennessee, New York City, Chicago and Columbus, Ohio.
The seven-speed bikes are being manufactured by Canadian firm Public Bike System Company, which has supplied many of Alta Bike Share’s other projects.
The kiosks are open 24 hours a day. Click here for more information, including a map of all of the locations.
Photo Credit: Bay Area Bike Share
