Metro Bike Share launched in downtown Los Angeles last July 7 — almost six months ago — and has since been gaining momentum and popularity. Here are five reasons why trying Metro Bike Share is a great resolution for the New Year:
- On Tuesday, we hit 100,000 trips made on Metro Bike Share — see the above dashboard for more metrics. For a deeper dive check out the data portal here.
- Metro Bike Share has sold more than 3,000 total passes as of this week. We think that’s a sign that many Angelenos see bikes as everyday transportation.
- Many studies have demonstrated the health benefits of cycling and bike share. Those who have used Metro Bike Share have burned a collective seven million calories, which is equal to about 7,000 pints of ice cream or losing 2,000 pounds (you need to burn 3,500 calories to loose a pound).
- Trips taken on Metro Bike Share instead of driving have prevented 252,514 pounds of carbon dioxide (the gas primarily responsible for climate change) from being released.
- Metro Bike Share is the first program in North America to integrate the transit fare card into the system; CNN Money said Metro Bike Share represents “what the future of bike share will look like.” Those with Metro Bike Share passes can get one TAP card that they can use to ride transit and use bike share. We’re still working on further improvements, too.
- The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition in partnership with Multicultural Communities for Mobility, Metro and the city of Los Angeles, is conducting outreach to communities in DTLA to ensure bike share is accessible to everyone. This partnership was made possible by a Better Bike Share Partnership grant. Get updates here on outreach.
- Metro Bike Share got a lot of love from CicLAvia attendees: the system logged more than 2,400 rides at the two most recent CicLAvia events. Also, DTLA locals such as Warpaint love it.
- Other communities want some Metro Bike Share love. The Metro Board recently approved expanding the system to Pasadena, Port of Los Angeles and Venice this year with costs shared by Metro and the communities. The expansion will mean the system has up to 1,475 bicycles and up to 125 stations. Metro is also studying the feasibility of further expansion to more than 20 other parts of Los Angeles County including North Hollywood, the San Gabriel Valley, East Los Angeles/Boyle Heights, Burbank, Glendale and more.
To learn more about Metro Bike Share today go here and see how the 61 stations in DTLA can get you moving!
And below is a video that explains the basics of Metro Bike Share:
Categories: Bicycle, Bike Share, Policy & Funding, Projects
Bike Share is great. The large amount of locations is really great for getting around Downtown. However I wish there was a better connection with Metro Rail and Bus. If I can transfer from a rail to a bus without paying an additional fee the same should be true for Bike Share.