SAN FRANCISCO—The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency board of directors reviewed data from a mid-point evaluation of San Francisco’s 18-month electric stationless bikeshare pilot during a recent meeting.
The pilot program began in January with JUMP bikes being the only company approved. JUMP was the only company that applied and met all requirements for a stationless bikeshare permit with SFMTA.
The bikeshare company JUMP, included an integrated lock on their bikes. The locks address issues with improper parking and sidewalk access by using its integrated lock to secure a JUMP bike to a bike rack. There were 250 bikes used to gain data from the pilot program. If the expansion is approved, a total of 500 bikes will be used on the second half of the pilot program.
The Director of Transportation is expected to approve the increase by October 9, said SFMTA Spokesperson Paul Rose to San Francisco News.
SFMTA has obtained data throughout the first seven months of the pilot program that show a high demand for ebikes. On average, a JUMP bike is used 8-10 times a day with each trip being around 2.6 miles long according to the SFMTA. JUMP bikes have different trip lengths, origins and destinations compared to the Ford GoBikes with return stations. Ford Gobikes need to be returned to docking stations around the city, while JUMP bikes do not.
Public feedback has been gathered by SFMTA to determine what else needs to be improved to the program. San Francisco’s Communities of Concern (CoC), are some of the most disadvantaged communities in the region and indicate that 55 percent of JUMP trips begin or end there. These communities have reported as being under serviced.
