Expansion to Add More Than 1,000 Bikes Throughout San Jose

June 24, 2015

Bay Area Bike Share, the region’s bike sharing system, is evolving from a successful pilot to a robust transportation option and will grow tenfold from 700 to 7,000 bikes in San José, San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley and Emeryville. In San José, the program will grow from the current 130 bikes to more than 1000.

More bikes mean more bike share stations. The locations for the additional bikes are being developed with input from residents and local businesses through an online station suggestion portal at suggest.bayareabikeshare.com where site visitors can immediately suggest locations for bike share stations throughout the community.

Intended to provide Bay Area residents and visitors with an additional transportation option for getting around the region, Bay Area Bike Share, operated by Motivate, consists of a fleet of specially designed, comfortable, durable bikes that are locked into a network of automated docking stations. Bikes can be rented from and returned to any station in the system, creating a network with many possible combinations of start and end points.

The expanded bike share system will be brought to scale gradually, with installation of new stations throughout 2016 and 2017. The expansion will be accomplished through a public-private partnership at no cost to taxpayers.

According to John Brazil, head of the active transportation program in the City of San Jose’s Department of Transportation, the increase in the availability of bikes will complement San Jose’s Bike Plan 2020, the City’s 10-year plan for being among the best cities in the U.S. for people who bike—where bicycling is safe, convenient and an integral part of daily life.

“San José is committed to offering the community a variety of transportation options—whether on foot, by transit or by bike,” Brazil said. “Convenience is key. That’s why we invite the residents to recommend new bike share station locations using suggest.bayareabikeshare.com.”

Over the past six years, San José added 40 miles of new bikeways and has a total of 291 miles of bikeways and trails. In the next 18 months, more than 60 miles more will be completed, expanding the network to over 350 miles.

“Combine the growing bikeway network, a bike share expansion, a relatively flat terrain, and large residential, employment and shopping centers, San José is poised to become one of the top cities in the U.S. for people on bikes,” Brazil said.

ABOUT MOTIVATE
Motivate is a global leader in bike share. A full-service bike share operator and technology innovator, Motivate works to re-envision how people experience and move around cities. Motivate currently manages all of the largest bike share systems in the United States and many of the largest systems in the world, including Bay Area Bike Share (California Bay Area), Citi Bike (New York), Divvy (Chicago), CoGo Bike Share (Columbus, Ohio), Capital Bike Share (Washington, D.C.; Arlington and Alexandria, Va.; and Montgomery County, Md.), Hubway (Boston, Somerville, Cambridge and Brookline, Mass.), Pronto (Seattle), Bike Chattanooga (Tenn.), Bike Share Toronto and Melbourne Bike Share in Australia as well as Bay Area Bike Share. Motivate recently was selected to launch a new system in Jersey City, N.J., that will be compatible with Citi Bike.

ABOUT METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

ABOUT SAN JOSÉ’S BIKE AND PEDESTRIAN PROGRAM
In Oct. 2007, the City of San José introduced its Green Vision, which sets forth 10 ambitious goals for environmental protection and economic development. A key part of this 15-year plan is the creation of a Green Mobility system—an integrated and sustainable way to get from place to place. Cycling and walking play significant parts in making this happen. San José’s mild climate and flat terrain provide an ideal environment for bicyclists and pedestrians.  The City has been recognized by the League of American Bicyclists as a Bicycle Friendly Community.  With more than 30,000 daily bike trips on more 240 miles of on-street bikeways, San José complements this by offering ongoing children’s’ walking and biking safety training in San José schools to ensure all have access to key safety training and help transition commuters from cars to bikes. San José is in the midst of expanding to 500 miles bikeways, including a network of trail systems, allowing residents to travel more easily by bicycle. For more information, visit http://www.sanJoséca.gov/transportation.

ABOUT THE CITY OF SAN JOSÉ
From its founding in 1777 as California’s first city, San José has been a leader, driven by its spirit of innovation. Today, San José stands as the largest city in Northern California and the Capital of Silicon Valley—the world’s leading center of innovation. The City, the 10th largest in the U.S., is committed to remaining a top-ranked place to do business, to work and to live. For more information, visit www.sanJoséca.gov.