Metro Set To Launch Downtown Los Angeles Bike Share Program
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Metro and the city of Los Angeles are preparing for the July 7 launch of Metro's bike sharing program in downtown Los Angeles -- an idea at least four years in the making.
The program will make as many as 1,000 bikes available at 65 locations around downtown Los Angeles, including Union Station, City Hall, Grand Park, the L.A. Convention Center, South Park, Chinatown, the Arts District, the Fashion District and Little Tokyo. The program carries a cost of about $11 million, the LA Times reported.
Many bike share stations will be placed close to Metro Rail stations and bus stops, in an effort to reduce car trips and boost Metro ridership, according to a video released Wednesday by the Los Angeles County Newsroom.
Metro users will be able to unlock the Metro bikes from a dock using a Metro TAP card.
A monthly pass offering unlimited 30-minutes rides will go for $20 a month. Passes are available at www.metro.net/bikeshare.
Walk-up fares will become available to riders August 1 at a price of $3.50 for 30 minutes.
In November, Santa Monica launched a bike share program that was billed as the first citywide bike share effort in Southern California.
Metro said it hopes to expand its program in the future to Pasadena, the San Fernando Valley, the San Gabriel Valley, Huntington Park, East Los Angeles and elsewhere across the region.
On June 28, Metro announced it had received a $75,000 grant from the Better Bike Share Partnership that would pair with a $25,000 matching grant from Metro to find ways to make the bike share system accessible and comfortable for "underserved communities" in and around downtown Los Angeles.
