Burlingame looks to bring back bike share program

Bike and scooter share programs, together called micromobility sharing, allow short-term app-based rentals for quick trips. They can also complement public transit, filling the gap between a station and one’s final destination.

Such services were popularized in the early 2010s, but in recent years amid emerging regulations, corporate restructuring and varied ridership, they all but vanished from the Peninsula. Burlingame previously hosted a short-lived bike share program that was cut short in 2019, just more than a year after its inception, after operator Lime discontinued bikes as part of its service.

Marking a modest comeback, a hotel-based bike share program was started in Burlingame earlier this year with at least five docking stations placed near Bayfront hotels. The council is now looking to establish guidelines to bring in another operator for broader service throughout the city, and according to sustainability coordinator Sigalle Michael, micromobility operator Bird has already expressed interest.

While Bird is known for its electric scooters, last year the company unveiled plans to expand its services to bikes with an electric assist up to 15 mph.

Citing safety concerns, the council through a thin majority indicated electric scooter sharing should not be allowed in the city.

“I worry about our downtown areas because of older people and scooters swinging in and out around people,” Councilmember Ann O’Brien Keighran said. “I think there’s just too many accidents with that, many people don’t follow the laws.”

Councilmember Donna Colson and Vice Mayor Michael Brownrigg shared the concern, however, Brownrigg indicated he would be open to reevaluating his stance depending on the success of a bike program.

The council will also be faced with whether the new program should use a “docked” or “dockless” approach. While Lime’s bikes were dockless, meaning they could be left on sidewalks or other public spaces, a majority of councilmembers said a new program should probably incorporate designated areas for bikes to be parked.

Brownrigg, however, said that depending on where designated parking areas were located, the requirement could render the service less popular. He said that while the dockless capability of the Lime bikes had irritated some residents who had pointed to blocked sidewalks, it also made the bikes more practical for people using them to get home or to a destination that could otherwise not be near a designated parking area.

“My impression is, unlike larger cities where people have a large downtown and they might go from one end to another, a lot of our users were last mile users, or first mile users,” he said, alluding to those using the bikes in conjunction with public transit.

Beach, who along with Mayor Ricardo Ortiz voiced support for scooters, said that in response to safety concerns, the city could establish geo-fenced areas in which bikes or scooters would be rendered inoperable.

“We could geo-fence and eliminate the ability to ride a scooter anywhere on Burlingame Avenue or anywhere on Broadway,” she said, adding also that those under 18 years of age were generally prohibited from riding.

Ortiz said while he was in the favor of the city pursuing its own program, a regional program would make “a lot more sense.”

Michael, the sustainability coordinator, said that while a regional approach was being worked on and “maybe … will happen one day,” progress on the effort was slow moving.

The last regional offering was the Bay Area Bike Share, launched by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District in 2013, with service in Redwood City, Palo Alto, Mountain View, San Jose and San Francisco. The service was handed to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission in 2016. Amid low ridership in some cities, the service was eventually acquired by Lyft in 2018 and rebranded as Bay Wheels. Today the service is offered in Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland, San Jose and San Francisco.

As far as other cities on the Peninsula, San Mateo in 2019 indicated it would allow a bike share operator within the city, but to date has not received any applicants. The city charges $5,000 to submit an application and does not allow scooters.

Redwood City began seeking applicants late last year, and has been working with Bird to bring scooters to the city. Mark Muenzer, the city’s Community Development and Transportation director, earlier this year indicated the city also has other interested operators, all of whom were proposing a scooter-only program. The city charges $2,000 for an application plus 25 cents per ride.

Councilmembers did not discuss fees for Burlingame, but Brownrigg indicated he did not believe an offering should serve as a moneymaker for the city.

It’s unclear what Bird’s bikes would cost to rent. In San Francisco, the cost to rent Bird scooters is $1 to unlock and 39 cents per minute. The Burlingame hotel-based program, run by Unlimited Biking (a company that focuses primarily on the tourism industry) offers bikes for $15 for an hour or $75 for the day.

corey@smdailyjournal.com

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