Toole Design Group will be working with Berkeley and Oakland to plan bikeshare expansion.
On July 9th the Metropolitan Transportation Commission officially awarded the Bike Share Technical Assistance Contract to Toole Design Group, LLC.
The purpose of the contract is primarily to support MTC and BAAQMD’s efforts in creating a detailed expansion plan of the Bay Area Bike Share program for future bike share locations, along with the development of a regional business model.
What this means in the East Bay is that Toole Design Group will be working with the cities of Berkeley and Oakland as they look into spending the recent grant funding from MTC (awarded in June) and plan for the East Bay expansion. The MTC, Berkeley and Oakland are all at different stages in terms of hiring full time staff to work on bike share. A position is currently open already at MTC (see application here).
One step closer to getting some blue bikes in the East bay! See the full contract and RFP info here.
Finally, some news regarding Alta Bike Share, the operator of Bay Area Bike Share: a tentative agreement has been made with REQX Ventures, a company run by individuals affiliated with Equinox and Related Companies to purchase at least 51-percent of the Portland-based company. An article in Capital New York linked here outlines the details and possible outcomes. In brief, we could expect better management of bike share programs but also higher prices.