Santa Monica Contemplates Bike Sharing

This past Wednesday, Santa Monica transportation officials in conjunction with Global Green hosted a Bike Sharing Community Forum to get community feedback on a possible bike sharing program in Santa Monica (the city already has a successful bike sharing program for its employees but is looking to expand it to the general public). Bike sharing programs loan bikes for short one-way trips around a dense, urban environment. Unlike bike rentals, shared bikes can be returned to a different station than the one where the bike was obtained. Bike sharing programs can be useful for residents and visitors who want to get across town conveniently and for commuters who need to make the last leg of their journey to/from transit stops to their workplace. Already very popular in Europe, they are starting to be implemented in cities across the US with much success. The city of Santa Monica sees bike sharing programs as one tool towards achieving the goal of “no new net trips” and meeting GHG emissions reductions and it wants to make sure its citizens are committed to the future program from the onset.

Representatives from Alta Bicycle Share, B-Cycle and ZotWheels gave presentations on their respective programs. Alta Bicycle Share operates the Capital Bikeshare program in Washington, DC. Launched in September 2010, the program now has 1,100 bikes in over 110 stations located in the DC and Arlington areas. The bikes are available 24 hours a day, year round, and since their launch have clocked 600,000 rides. An even more impressive number: only one crash for every 50,000 rides! Considered wildly successful, the program is looking to expand further.

B-Cycle operates the Denver B-cycle program. Implemented in its current form in April 2010, the program has 500 bikes at 50 stations in the Denver metro area. The bikes are available from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week, from March to November based on weather conditions. The program clocked over 100,000 rides from April through December 2010. A fun feature of the program is a personalized webpage for each member where they can track duration of trips, calories burned, and carbon offsets. B-Cycle had a display showcasing their solar-powered station and bikes available for test rides.

The ZotWheels program operates on the campus of UC Irvine with 28 bikes at 4 stations available to students and staff during the daylight hours, seven days a week. The program has clocked about 1,500 rides since January 2010 through March 2011. Because Santa Monica is a small city, there were interesting points about the applicability of a smaller system over larger programs.

After the presentations, community members gave their input on station placement, outreach efforts, education and safety. Among the chorus of voices was a resounding affirmation for a bike sharing program in the city. Commissioner Phil Brock, Vice-Chair of the Recreation and Parks Commission, told the expectant crowd that he was committed to implementing a program of 350 bikes in 35 stations within 18 months (the city has been recommended to receive a grant for almost $2.5 million from LA Metro in 2016 but looks to start a program much sooner than that).

Although the city has no formal planning committee, now is the time to share recommendations and concerns about the future bike sharing program with city officials. Here are a few of mine:

• The program should be available 24 hours a day, year round; utilize social media including mobile apps; and have a data collection component.
• Stations should be placed near busy transit stops and be no more than ¼ mile apart.
• The city should create a safety education campaign to educate both drivers and bicycle users. As part of that education campaign, helmet use should be encouraged but not mandated.
• The current Big Blue Bus fare system should integrate the new bike sharing program to encourage use by transit commuters. Alternatively, a new system should be developed that utilizes a single card or payment system to facilitate use of all modes of transit.

Overall, we are supportive of bike sharing programs as a tool for cities to reduce vehicle miles traveled and achieve sustainable community goals. We look forward to working with the city of Santa Monica to ensure that its bike sharing program becomes a model for neighboring cities to emulate, thereby reducing our region’s air pollution, encouraging active transportation, and promoting a healthier lifestyle for all.