OAKLAND — Thousands more bicycles will be added to the Bay Area’s fledgling bike-share program under a new operator who will open East Bay stations for the first time.
The expanded program run by Motivate, a national bike-share operator, won approval of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission on Wednesday morning.
The company plans to have all its added bikes available by 2017.
Riders would pay $149 a year for a pass to the system, with a 40 percent discount for qualified low-income people. A pilot program with 380 bikes was such a success in San Francisco, which is getting 4,100 of the new bikes.
“The bikes are beloved by San Franciscans,” said Tyler Frisbee of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. “It gives many access to bikes who wouldn’t have them.”
Little taxpayer money is involved, although the transportation commission has set aside $4.5 million to help other cities join.
Motivate, which took over former bike-share company Alta late last year, makes money from advertising and sponsorships. The company also runs bike-shares in New York, Toronto, Boston, Chicago, Seattle and other cities.
After the meeting, Motivate showed off its distinctive seafoam-green, five-speed bicycle that will appear at stations in Berkeley, Emeryville and Oakland. Motivate plans to put at least 1,300 bikes on those city streets.
The bikes have front and rear lights embedded in the hollow frame that also hides the brake and gear cables. A generator in the front hub powers the lights whenever the rider pedals and will stay on for a few minutes at rest.
San Jose is in line for 1,000 of them. Mountain View, Palo Alto and Redwood City also will continue to have bike-share stations. San Ramon intends to apply for the program, said Commissioner Julie Pierce, a Clayton City Council member. The city’s Bishop Ranch Business Park has a private bike share program.
The plan is to bring the program up in stages with MTC closely monitoring progress.
The bikes Motivate manufactures “are similar in durability and heft to the current bikes, made to withstand the rigors of urban riding,” company spokeswoman Dani Simons said in an email.
The company decided to make its own bikes after running into supply problems. It called in renowned international racing bike designer Ben Serotta to design them. He worked with company mechanics and maintenance records to determine the weaknesses that needed attention, Simons said.
The big item was the handlebar and its supporting tube, which needed repairs three or four times a year, she said.
“We redesigned it with higher quality parts and made it easier for the mechanics to adjust it when it does need repair,” Simons said, adding that the rear hub was replaced with a more reliable Sturmey Archer hub. “Sturmey Archer’s been in business for over 100 years and (its parts) are known for their quality.” she said.
Contact Andrew McGall at 925-945-4703. Follow him at twitter.com/AndrewMcGall
WANT A BIKE STATION?
Motivate, the company expanding the Bay Area’s bike-sharing program invites people to suggest places for bike docks in San Francisco, San Jose, Berkeley, Oakland, and Emeryville. Ideas can be submitted at suggest.bayareabikeshare.com
