Local leaders and transit officials celebrated the expansion of the Bay Wheels bike share program in Daly City on Friday at one of its newest stations just outside City Hall.
“This pilot program is about more than just transportation,” Daly City Mayor Rod Daus-Magbual said. “It’s about providing a healthy, affordable and sustainable option for our residents to get to their jobs, schools and sustainable option for our residents to have a transit hub.”
Bay Wheels is the region’s largest bike share program and allows people to rent bicycles and ride from one loading dock to another. The docks are located throughout San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Berkeley, Emeryville and now Daly City.
Daly City got its first Bay Wheels bike rack last year at its BART station.
About two weeks ago, Bay Wheels loading docks began popping up throughout Daly City. As of Friday, five stations are up and running. The remaining three are expected to be rolled out by the end of next week, bringing 80 new electric and regular bikes in total.
So far, there are Bay Wheels stations located at Daly City Hall, the Westlake Shopping Center, Westlake Library, John Daly Boulevard and Mission Street, and Templeton Avenue and Mission Street.
Bay Wheels is operated by Lyft under a contract managed by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which helps coordinate and finance transit projects across the Bay Area.
“To see this expansion is absolutely amazing,” Gina Papan, a commissioner on the MTC, said. “We’re expanding bike share in Daly City for the residents, for people who visit Daly City and up and down the Peninsula.”
Papan and Daus-Magbual were among attendees who put on helmets and tried out riding e-bikes.
“I grew up here in Daly City and bikes were how you got around,” Papan said.
Michael Salazar is the vice chair of the City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County, a coalition of representatives from each locality in the county that work to manage quality of life issues, including transportation. He is also a member of the San Bruno City Council.
Salazar sees Bay Wheels’ expansion into Daly City as a step forward in the broader effort to spread the bike share program to San Mateo County.
“Just imagine a future where our commuters ride Bay Wheels to work, to the Caltrain stations,” Salazar said. “Families use it to visit parks, and students depend on it to reach their classes, everywhere from Daly City to East Palo Alto to Half Moon Bay — that is our vision for the region.”
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