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Daly City council advances Bay Wheels e-bike pilot; consent authorizes city manager to sign contracts
Summary
The City Council received a presentation on a two‑year Bay Wheels e-bike pilot for Daly City and approved a consent item authorizing the city manager to execute necessary agreements. The pilot would deploy up to 80 e-bikes at 8–12 stations, run two years and is funded by regional partners.
Daly City council members on Jan. 13 received a presentation on a proposed two‑year Bay Wheels bike‑share pilot and approved a consent calendar item authorizing the city manager to execute necessary agreements to implement the pilot.
The pilot, presented by Laura Kroll of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), would deploy up to 80 electric‑assist bikes and 8–12 stations in a phased rollout, with an initial eight stations planned for summer 2025 and monitoring through summer 2027. Kroll told the council the pilot “would cost roughly $1,500,000” and that the funding for the two‑year pilot is already secured so “beyond staff time no additional funding would be required of Daly City for the 2 year pilot.”
Why it matters: the system would be integrated into the Bay Area’s existing Bay Wheels network (operated by Lyft) and use the network’s membership and fare structure, enabling single‑trip, station‑to‑station travel that many officials said could help solve last‑mile connections to transit and reduce vehicle miles traveled.
Details presented to council included station phasing and operations. The system would start dock‑based (station to station) and be monitored jointly by Daly City staff, MTC and Lyft; Lyft would handle local operations, rebalancing and battery swaps. Sean Carpenter of the City/County Association of Governments (CCAG) said the county is examining a mobility card preloaded with $200 for eligible San Mateo County residents that could be used on Bay Wheels.
Pricing follows the regional Bay Wheels model: monthly and annual memberships, a reduced‑price income‑qualified program called Bike Share for All, and separate unlock/trip fees for non‑members. Kroll gave an example from the slides: “a 10 minute ride from the Daly City BART Station to City Hall would cost $1.50 on an e‑bike for members compared to $6.99 for non‑members on an e‑bike.”
Council members asked about helmet rules, safety training, adaptive bikes and law‑enforcement access to trip or asset data; presenters said California helmet law requires helmets for riders 18 and under, that outreach and rider education (including multilingual materials) will be part of the grant‑funded program, that MTC and CCAG will pursue adaptive‑bike outreach with Bay Area programs such as BORP, and that Lyft would be the party to answer technical questions about GPS and data sharing with law enforcement.
The council approved the consent calendar item that includes authorization for the city manager to enter necessary agreements for the Bay Wheels pilot. Council members and staff said the pilot will be monitored for ridership, station usage and equity outcomes to inform future decisions.
What’s next: staff expects an initial station siting process in spring 2025 and a summer 2025 launch if contracts are executed on the timeline presented.
