Bike sharing coming to S.F. and southward
August target for 70 kiosks for S.F., Peninsula, San Jose
Michael Cabanatuan
sfgate.com
March 17, 2013
Come August, commuters in San Francisco and San Jose and up and down the Peninsula won't need to own bikes to pedal to many destinations. They'll be able to borrow and return hundreds of bicycles at dozens of kiosks.
Bike sharing, an idea that's been popular in Europe for decades and coveted by San Francisco for years, is finally arriving in the Bay Area - or at least the part of the region served by Caltrain.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District plans to roll out a $7 million test program in August, just in time for the America's Cup and the region's busy season of fall festivals and events.
"This is an important step in expanding bicycle use in San Francisco and the region," said Paul Rose, spokesman for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. "We're looking forward to moving ahead and expanding the program."
So is the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, which has championed bike sharing. However, it fears that the test program is too modest a start, with too few bikes at not enough locations.
"We're really happy the Bay Area is catching up to the rest of the American cities that have bike sharing programs," said Leah Shahum, the coalition's executive director. "But we think the system is starting too small. The density of the system is critical to its success."
700 bikes, 70 stations
The program, which has not yet been named, will feature 700 bikes at 70 stations, with exactly half of the network in San Francisco. The rest will be scattered among the four other participating cities: Redwood City, Palo Alto, Mountain View and San Jose. Originally, the system planned for 1,000 bikes, with 500 in San Francisco.
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In San Francisco, the bike stations will be spread through downtown - along the Embarcadero as well as in the South of Market neighborhood, the Financial District and up Market Street to the Civic Center area.
In the other cities, Schkolnick said, the kiosks are likely to be located within a mile or two of Caltrain stations at popular destinations. Specific locations have not yet been selected, though the list has been narrowed to 140 spots.
The test of the bike sharing program is set to last one to two years under the direction of the air district, which is contributing $1.4 million. Other funding comes from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission ($4.3 million) and transit agencies ($1.3 million).
Schkolnick said the goal has always been 1,000 bikes at first, but that the program needs to attract other funding, probably from private partners.
The size of the pilot program is also a concern to San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener. He's introduced a resolution calling for the program to be quickly expanded citywide.
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Schkolnick said the air district chose not to limit the program to San Francisco because of the regional nature of commuting in the Bay Area and the Peninsula's interest in the program. Caltrain has drawn large crowds of bicyclists who pedal to the station, ride the train and then pedal some more to work.
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