MTA outlines regional one-year bike-share pilot to Port Commission; $4.3M grant funds 1,000-bike pilot

San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency project manager Heath Maddox told the Port Commission the Bay Area will launch a regional, one-year bike-share pilot in spring 2012 backed by a $4.3 million Metropolitan Transportation Commission grant and an additional $1.4 million from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

Maddox said the overall pilot will include 1,000 bicycles and 100 stations, with approximately half of those resources placed in San Francisco. "We were happy to get, a $4,300,000 grant," he told commissioners, and said the Air District was contributing additional funds. The pilot is intended as a first-and-last-mile complement to regional transit and to test operations, technology and demand in multiple jurisdictions.

Port planner Kania Dorlin said the Port's role so far is advisory and focused on station siting on Port property. Dorlin said staff has identified initial station criteria that avoid leasable and revenue-generating areas, respect Bay Conservation and Development Commission view corridors and place stations near transit and job centers. Maddox added the systems typically use docks and a kiosk with RFID membership media and that he was requesting bikes to include GPS where feasible.

Maddox described operational and business elements: vendors provide modular stations that can be dropped into place; membership is open to people 18 and older and typically requires a credit card; pricing scenarios discussed ranged from $60–$90 for annual memberships and $5–$10 for day passes. He said the pilot schedule calls for an RFP release in the fall, vendor selection by late year or early next year, a 5–6 month delivery window and a hoped-for launch around Bike-to-Work Day in mid-May 2012.

Public comment and commissioners focused on station density, liability and safety. Andy Thornley of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition said: "You won't be surprised to hear we're very supportive of this pilot," and urged that stations be dense enough to fairly test demand. Commissioners asked about expected mode shift and safety; Maddox cited published evaluations from other U.S. cities and estimated San Francisco might see roughly 10–12% of bike-share trips replace car trips. He said liability will be handled through interagency and vendor agreements and that the city and port would not own the bikes during the pilot.

Next steps: port staff will continue siting work, brief adjacent tenants and Bay Conservation and Development Commission staff, and return with final locations and agreements for the port's review. No formal action was required at this hearing.