The Metro Board today approved several major improvements to its countywide bike share program that will make using shared bicycles more affordable and accessible for short-distance trips. Here is the staff report on fares and the staff report on expansion.
Metro also plans to expand its bike share program utilizing new Smart Bikes in several new downtown L.A. and West Los Angeles communities.
Metro’s new, lower fare structure should be implemented within 60 days and is expected to increase ridership. The walk-up, 30-day and annual pass options have all been reduced in price. The new fare structure includes:
- 1-Ride: $1.75 for each 30-minute trip (down from $3.50!) and $1.75 for every 30-minute trip thereafter.
- 1-Day Pass (NEW): $5 per day. All trips 30 minutes or less are free and $1.75 every 30 minutes thereafter.
- 30-Day Pass: $17 per month. All trips 30 minutes or less are free and $1.75 every 30 minutes thereafter.
- Annual Pass: $150 per year. All trips 30 minutes or less are free and $1.75 every 30 minutes thereafter.
Other new fare options include reduced fare passes of $5 per month or $50 per year for eligible seniors, students, disabled/Medicare and low-income individuals, 40 percent discounts on Bike Share for Business passes and up to 50 percent discounts for bulk purchases of single ride passes.
In reducing the walk-up price from $3.50 to just $1.75, Metro has made its bike share program more cost-competitive with other bike sharing systems now operating in L.A. County. The fare is now the same as the one-way fare for Metro’s Bus and Rail System.
Metro will also be implementing its third major expansion of bike share to new communities. In DTLA, Metro is planning to immediately expand to Expo Park/USC by relocating some low-usage stations in the downtown area. In the communities of Echo Park/Silver Lake, Koreatown, MacArthur Park/Westlake and Palms, Mar Vista, Playa Del Rey, Playa Vista and Del Rey areas, nearly 700 additional bikes and 79 additional stations are expected to be installed by mid-2019. In West Los Angeles, Metro’s bike share program will be expanded this fall to Culver City and Marina Del Rey.
Metro and its contractor Bicycle Transit Systems, Inc. will be introducing new Smart Bikes for this and future expansions. Like other bike share systems also operating in the region, these new Smart Bikes will provide riders flexibility to pick them up and drop them off at designated locations such as municipal racks and smaller stations located throughout the service areas. Riders can also choose to pay a convenience fee to drop off bikes anywhere.
Metro has worked with cities to strategically place bike share stations near Metro stations to encourage both bicycle and transit trips. Coming this fall, a single pre-registered Metro TAP fare card can serve as the key to both Metro Bus and Rail lines and the Metro Bike Share system, making it the most integrated with transit than any other system in the United States.
Bike sharing is an ideal transportation option for people to get where they need to go for trips to local destinations that may be too far to walk and too short or inconvenient to drive.
Those interested in utilizing bike share are encouraged to register for a Metro bike share pass at www.metro.net/bikeshare.
Here is a presentation provided to the Metro Board: