Red, blue, and green bike shares are popping up all over the East Bay. Using a credit card, smartphone, or in some cases a Clipper Card, you can unlock any of these bikes and ride to your next destination. Here’s a handy guide (and free codes!) to the three shared use bike systems in your neighborhood.
Blue = Ford GoBike
Ford GoBike is the Bay Area’s original bike share system. It’s a docked bike share system, meaning you check out and return the bikes to pods around town. The bikes are docked in “pods” on the street and must be checked out and returned to these pod locations. There are 1,400 bikes installed or on their way in the next couple months in Oakland, Berkeley and Emeryville, and your Ford GoBike membership can be used in San Francisco and San Jose. Go to FordGobike.com/Save25 for $25 off an annual membership, or use this link on your smartphone to get your first ride free.
Ford GoBike offers a $5 annual membership for low-income folks. Sign up at BikeShareForAll.org.
Green = LimeBike
LimeBike is a dockless bike share system, which means you can pickup and dropoff a bike anywhere as long as they are not blocking the public right of way. You can ride LimeBikes in Alameda, El Cerrito, Albany and the Shadelands Business Center in Walnut Creek. Limebike also recently added an electric scooter, which has been popping up around Lake Merritt in Oakland. Use this app link for $1 off your LimeBike rides.
Red = Jump
JUMP is an electric bike share that is a hybrid between docked and dockless bike share. JUMP bikes don’t need to be returned to a dock and instead come with a lock to attach to bike racks. JUMP originally launched as Social Bicycle at the Bishop Ranch office park in San Ramon. It later rebranded as JUMP and now operates a small pilot system on the campus of UC Berkeley.
Better Bike Share
Bike share is rapidly changing our biking—and transportation—landscape. By giving people more options to get around by bike, bike share benefits our health and our environment. As these new systems roll out, Bike East Bay is working to make sure bike share systems are safe to use, accessible to people with less resources, and meet the needs of our communities.
We’ve have asked cities and bike share operators to meet this basic criteria:
Equity
Bike share should be accessible to all regardless of income and whether or not people have a credit card or smartphone. So far the Bike Share 4 All program through FordGoBike is the gold standard with $5 annual membership for the first year, cash payment option, clipper integration and extended ride time for low income members. Two thousand members have signed up to date through this program. Click here to sign up.
Engage Communities
Cities and providers should be reaching out to their communities before the systems launch and continuing to engage and seek feedback throughout the process. In addition we ask that the providers hire folks from the communities they are serving and engage local non-profits and community groups through community benefit agreements.
Safety
All bikes should be safe to ride. The SF stationless bikeshare permit does a great job of defining these safety standards. We ask that providers maintain the bikes and have a way for users to flag a bike for repair.
What do you think about bike share in your city? Give it a try and and let us know what you think at Info@BikeEastBay.org.