L.A. Metro Bike Share Station to be Piloted in Echo Park

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Los Angeles Department of Transportation and Los Angeles City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell are collaborating to install a pilot bike share station near Echo Park Lake, the first station to be tested just west of the downtown core.

With expansion areas currently being analyzed, Metro and LADOT are looking to gain feedback from local community members. The pilot station will provide an opportunity for local residents and businesses to learn and experience Metro Bike Share before a full system roll out.

“Everyone should have access to clean, healthy transportation,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, chair of the Metro Board. “Echo Park is a fantastic neighborhood to explore — and the Metro Bike Share program will make it easier than ever to do it on two wheels.”

Plans call for the installation of a bike share station at Echo Park and Park Avenues on October 5 in time for the Sunday, October 8 CicLAvia Heart of the City Open Streets event presented by Metro. The CicLAvia route includes a hub at Echo Park where participants can try the pilot bike share station.

“Residents and visitors alike will be able to explore Echo Park like never before,” said Councilmember O’Farrell. “People will have easy access to experience the joys of bicycle riding in a wonderful neighborhood.”

The countywide Metro Bike Share system features approximately 1,400 bikes available 24/7, 365 days a year in multiple locations, including downtown L.A., Pasadena, Port of L.A. and Venice. Metro Bike Share offers convenient round-the-clock access to a fleet of bicycles for short trips and to access Metro transit services.

“Bike sharing is an increasingly important first-mile, last-mile strategy that enables Metro to facilitate bicycle and transit connections in Los Angeles County,” said Metro CEO Phillip A. Washington. “We are making great progress on our goal to create new mobility options that meet more of our customers’ needs as we continue expanding our region’s world-class public transportation system.”

“The Echo Park station is a natural extension of bike sharing to a strong, vibrant neighborhood,” said Seleta Reynolds, LADOT General Manager. “We focus our work with Metro on growing this new form of public transit to as many places as possible to give people choices for all the trips they make in our city.”

The Metro bike share fare structure is designed to be flexible and affordable for all users. The agency has created three simple pass options: 

• A 30-day pass is $20. All trips 30 minutes or less are free and $1.75 per 30 minutes thereafter. This pass option is best if the user expects to take more than five trips per month. People use their registered TAP card to get bikes directly from docks and the pass renews 30 days after initial purchase.
• A Flex Pass is $40 per year. All trips 30 minutes or less are $1.75 and $1.75 per 30 minutes thereafter. This option is best if users expect to take two to five trips per month or want the convenience of using their TAP card to get a bike directly from the dock.
• A Walk-Up is $3.50 for 30 minutes. All trips 30 minutes or less are $3.50, and $3.50 per 30 minutes thereafter.  Users can pay per trip using their credit card at any station kiosk. No TAP card is needed for the Walk-Up.
• Users can see real-time bike and dock availability on the app and online station map.

Bicycle Transit Systems will operate the system with bikes and stations provided by BCycle, a unit of Trek Bicycles of Wisconsin. These companies have successfully launched and/or operate more than 40 bike share systems in metropolitan areas in the United States and abroad.

Metro originally launched bike sharing in downtown L.A. in July 2016. That system comprises 61 stations and approximately 700 bicycles throughout the downtown area. To date, more than 253,000 trips have been made on the countywide system, with more than 642,000 miles traveled.

Metro’s bike share system has also helped remove more than 610,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from the air.