Berkeley Chosen For Bike Share Program

BERKELEY, CA - Berkeley, Oakland and Emeryville have been chosen as the first three cities in the East Bay to receive bike share stations, Motivate and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) announced Monday.

Click on each city name to see the proposed locations:

• Oakland
• Berkeley
• Emeryville

There are 10 stations in Berkeley, 21 stations in Oakland and three stations in Emeryville, a total of 34 stations, bringing more than 350 bicycles in the East Bay during this, the first of three phases of bike share expansion.

"Berkeley is a vibrant, world-class city that is dedicated to reducing its carbon footprint,” said Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates. “Motivate’s partnership with MTC gives us another important tool in our efforts to combat climate change and makes bike sharing a reality in our city.”

While ten locations have been identified for Berkeley’s first phase of bike share, at least 37 stations are anticipated as part of the full expansion.

The East Bay will have more than 100 stations when the three-phase expansion is complete.

These first new stations will be primarily located in downtown areas, where high concentrations of residents live or travel for work and pleasure, and will incrementally expand outward to surrounding neighborhoods.

“Since the launch of Bay Area Bike Share in 2013, we’ve heard a strong desire from the community to bring bike share to the East Bay,” said Emily Stapleton, General Manager of Bay Area Bike Share. “In the first year of our expansion, we’re planning to connect the key commercial corridors in Oakland, Berkeley and Emeryville to provide residents, workers and visitors in these thriving cities with a new and accessible option to travel in and between them.”

The entire tenfold expansion of the bike share system to 7,000 bicycles across the Bay Area is expected to be complete by 2018.

Images via Bay Area Bike Share