Oakland, CA – The City of Oakland, along with San Francisco, San Jose, Berkeley and
Emeryville, are working with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to
expand Bay Area regional bike sharing by bringing the program to the East Bay cities of
Oakland, Berkeley and Emeryville in 2016.
The MTC announced today a proposal that calls for building on the success of the 700-
bike Bay Area Bike Share program that started in 2013 by expanding the program to
7,000 bikes by 2017. The proposal includes bringing a total of 850 bikes to Oakland, 400
bikes to Berkeley and 100 bikes to Emeryville.
“I can’t wait to jump on a bike when we bring this program to Oakland next year,” said
Mayor Libby Schaaf. “Active transportation improves public health, promotes economic
development, helps the environment and is fun and affordable. We’re committed to
making sure that the benefits of bike sharing serve neighborhoods and residents across
our city – from downtown to East and West Oakland.”
San Jose and San Francisco’s existing programs would be expanded significantly from
2016-2017, going from 328 bikes in San Francisco to 4,500 and 129 bikes in San Jose to
1,000. After the initial five-city four-phase expansion ends, the entire Bay Area region
will get 150 additional bikes in late 2017 with at least 50 slated to serve the East Bay. The
regional effort will make this one of largest bike sharing systems in the nation.
The expansion would be accomplished through a public-private partnership with
Motivate, the nation’s largest bike share operator, and would come at no cost to
taxpayers. Motivate is the current operator of the Bay Area Bike Share pilot, having won
a competitive bid in 2013. Under the new MTC proposal, bike share station locations
would be developed in consultation with residents and local businesses through a series of
open forums and outreach events.
The five cities and MTC have placed social equity at the core of the program’s expansion
plan: 20 percent of new stations would be placed in low-income areas, using MTC’s
“Communities of Concern” designation, and discounted memberships would be made
available to customers enrolled in Bay Area utility lifeline programs.
The MTC’s Policy Advisory Council will consider the proposal at their April 8, 2015
meeting, with the proposal expected to go before the full Commission later this spring.
The MTC must approve the terms of the contract with Motivate. Each municipality will
also individually approve the contract before expansion can begin in each participating
city. The system will be brought to scale over about eighteen months, with installation of
new stations occurring throughout 2016 and 2017.
Media Contact:
Erica Terry Derryck
(510) 238-7072
ederryck@oaklandca.gov