CA: Marin-Sonoma bike rental transit program launches

Marin and Sonoma residents and visitors have a new option for getting around key transit corridors: pedal-assist electric bikes that are available to rent by app.

The program, called the Redwood Bikeshare, is a two-year pilot project offering 300 e-bikes at approximately 60 hubs in the two counties. The program, originally set to launch in 2022, was delayed after the contractor hired to run the program suddenly went out of business.

Officials in the two counties celebrated the program launch Wednesday at the Marin-Sonoma Area Rail Transit station in downtown Petaluma.

"It's great," said Marin County Supervisor Eric Lucan, a program sponsor who is chair of the SMART board and a member of Transportation Authority of Marin board.

"The Redwood Bikeshare is a fabulous and fun first-last-mile solution for riders to get from the train to work, school, shopping or just to cruise around and see the sights," said Lucan, who took one of the bikes for a spin on Wednesday.

Warren Wells, policy and planning director at the Marin County Bicycle Coalition, also attended the event to test out the new wheels.

"We at MCBC are very excited to see the launch of the long-awaited Redwood Bikeshare system," Wells said. "Not only does this network of bikes provide an excellent option for travelers making short trips connecting to SMART or around town, but it let's people who have not yet ridden an e-bike experience what a game changer they can be."

The project is being funded by a $826,000 grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Bay Area's transportation planning agency.

The grant came to the Sonoma County Transportation Authority in 2018. The Transportation Authority of Marin is jointly overseeing the program with the Sonoma agency. SMART and the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District — which manages Golden Gate transit and ferry — are also partnering on the program.

The Sonoma agency had initially approved a three-year pilot contract with Bolt Mobility to position the bikes in seven cities along the SMART corridor. But Bolt Mobility shut down because of the pandemic.

Last year, Drop Mobility was hired to be the bike-share service provider.

The vehicles are class 1 pedal-assist e-bikes that reach a top speed of 15 mph.

Hub sites are at or near SMART stations in Larkspur and San Rafael, as well as the Sonoma County cities of Petaluma, Cotati and Rohnert Park. The system will be expanding to Novato and Santa Rosa in the coming weeks.

Dipesh Dar, a Drop Mobility executive, said it's been a pleasure working with Marin and Sonoma transportation officials to roll out the bikes.

"Drop is excited to bring our full stack of services to create a sustainable program that will serve the community for years to come," Dar said.

San Anselmo Councilmember Brian Colbert, who is the chair of the Transportation Authority of Marin board, said the program is a "great addition to mobility options in Marin and Sonoma."

Bikes can be reserved, unlocked and paid for using an app. It costs $1 to unlock a bike and 25 cents a minute for pay-as-you go riders.

Memberships cost $20 a month. Perks include a waived unlock fee and 30 minutes of free ride time per day. It would be 25 cents a minute after that.

The service also has an equity membership option that offers the same perks as the standard membership but a discounted rate of $5 a month. These memberships are available to people enrolled in programs such as CalFresh and Medicaid.

Matthew Hartzell, director of planning and research at WTB-TAM, an advocacy group for cyclists, said he welcomes the program and wishes it success.

"It's a great start, but we believe more is needed," Hartzell said. "The program as currently planned is spread too thin. A successful bikeshare system requires a more concentrated network of hubs that are located within walking distance of most residences and jobs. We hope that this is just the beginning and that the future will bring expansion of the system."

Managers of the program say they plan a six-month and one-year review to determine whether to continue the program beyond the two-year trial, and potentially expand it.

"This system is scalable," Lucan said. "Certainly, we'll be aiming to get as much feedback as we can during the pilot."

___
(c)2024 The Marin Independent Journal (Novato, Calif.)
Visit The Marin Independent Journal (Novato, Calif.) at www.marinij.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.