Long Beach, one of America’s most bike-friendly cities, just got a little friendlier.
On Wednesday, the city of Long Beach announced the installment of a bike share program, provided by Bike Nation, which will connect public transportation with a series of bike stations.
According to Bike Nation’s Chief Operating Officer, Derek Fretheim, each bike station will have 10 bikes that pedestrians will be able to rent and ride to popular destinations like the Queen Mary, the Pike, Shoreline Village and Cal State Long Beach.
The stations will be set up in phases with phase one focusing on Downtown Long Beach, which should be completed by February 2013, Fretheim said. Phases two and three are also expected to hit the ground in 2013; however, locations for the stations are still being determined.
Phase one will offer 25 stations that will be scattered around Downtown Long Beach with 250 total bikes, according to Long Beach Bicycle Coordinator Allen Crawford. By the end of the ten-year contract with Bike Nation, Long Beach will be home to 250 stations and 2,500 bikes.
“We started to see impacts that the programs were having,” Crawford said. “We want to provide the people of Long Beach options.”
CSULB will also have bike stations available on campus by 2013, CSULB Sustainable Transportation Coordinator Elissa Thomas said. Some locations that are in consideration include the library, the Student Recreation and Wellness Center, Beach Side and the residence halls.
“It will be a tremendous benefit to students,” Thomas said. “It provides access to quick and safe means to cut across campus.”
The bike stations will also be available across campus at Long Beach Transit bus stops, Orange County Transportation Authority bus stops and the Metro Blue Line. Students will be able to ride bikes from campus to a bus stop that can take them to Downtown Long Beach, Downtown Los Angeles or Anaheim, where bike stations will also be installed.
“It’s very plug and play,” Thomas said. “It’s not just about getting around locally in Long Beach … the cards are good in L.A. and Anaheim. Students can hop on the Blue Line and hop on a bike in L.A.”
The program was offered to the campus for free, Thomas said. For now, CSULB is planning on installing six stations with 10 bikes at each station.
“It turned out to be a huge opportunity for us with Bike Nation doing it for free,” she said.
Rick Wedgeworth, a junior in mechanical engineering, said that he thinks cutting across campus on a bike can be dangerous, but he likes the idea of being connected to other Long Beach destinations.
“That sounds like it will be a [more] convenient thing than just having them on campus,” he said. “Being that it’s fairly busy around here, it can be hard to get around … there’s no clear path on campus without getting on or off your bike.”
Sociology sophomore, Miriam Guzman, said she does not plan to use the bike stations, but she said she sees how the share program could be beneficial for other students.
“It will save people gas,” she said. “They might like that. It could save time.”
Individuals can ride the bikes for free for up to 30 minutes. Then patrons will have to pay $1.50 for one hour and $4.50 for 90 minutes, with each additional half hour costing an extra $6.00. Subscriptions can also be purchased for $6.00 a day, $20.00 for three days, $25.00 for a week, $35.00 for a month and $75.00 for a year. Students and seniors can purchase the one-year subscription for $60.00. Subscription cards, which allow individuals to rent a bike at any station, can be purchased on bikenationusa.com.