A bike share program provides a fleet of rentable bicycles at a network of stations located throughout a city or group of cities, in order to provide a convenient and flexible alternate mode of travel for short trips, transit-linked trips and tourism. Bike sharing is a relatively inexpensive and quick-to-implement option that can have very positive effects, including improved individual and community health and reduced pollution.
More than 300 cities around the globe are investing in bike sharing. In our corner of the world, Bay Area Bike Share is increasing its system ten-fold, from 700 to 7,000 bikes over the next two years in San Francisco, San Jose and the East Bay.
Feasibility study
To find out if there was demand for a bike share program in Marin County, and to determine what effort it would take to implement, TAM completed a bike share feasibility study with the help of consultant Alta Planning + Design in January 2013. The study suggests a timeline of approximately 24-30 months to plan, fund and implement a bike share program, including:
Funding for the Marin County Bike Share Feasibility Study was provided by Measure B, the Vehicle Registration Fee.