Millbrae, Burlingame tuning up new e-bike program

“Burlingame and Millbrae are pleased with how well it is going and are excited to see it grow further,” Michael said.

The bike service is used an average of 60 trips per day, with its peak usage around 108 trips, on Saturdays and Sundays, she added.

Meanwhile, the Millbrae City Council unanimously voted to ban e-bikes from being used on the Spur Trail during its meeting Tuesday, June 27. The ban comes after the city received numerous complaints of the e-bikes not wanted on the trail, even though there hasn’t been any accidents reported.

The Spur Trail is a slow ride zone which is regulated to 3 mph. The e-bike’s programming can be electronically regulated through geofencing which uses GPS systems to limit where the bike can physically go, according to the city staff’s presentation.

Millbrae resident John Cooney said the e-bikes are a menace to the people who walk the trail and added appropriate signs should be posted to what is and isn’t allowed there.

“A lot of people walking and walking their dogs, jogging, and a lot of families with small children and also old people that are not going to be able to dodge fast-moving electrically powered bicycles,” Cooney said.

Millbrae’s city staff identified four new areas to install corrals where the bikes would be typically stored between uses, two of which would be in front and behind City Hall. It also found areas staff believes will be useful at El Camino Real and Victoria Avenue and El Camino Real and Chadbourne Avenue. The council also unanimously voted on allowing city staff to remove and add bike corrals freely without approval as needed.

Burlingame city staff is looking into areas where additional bike corrals can be installed and already identified the library on Primrose Road as one area that needs corrals, Michael said.

Both cities have installed around 40 total bike corrals around transit areas, downtown and major parks. City officials hope riders use the corrals to park bikes. The e-bikes will cost $1 to unlock and 42 cents a minute to ride.

“We are hoping it will help with the last mile for commuters who are taking the train or the bus to work but still have a ways to go to get home from there,” Michael said previously.

How it works

Users download the Spin app. It shows the nearest bikes and the battery life left. The bike is unlocked with a QR code on the handle bars. It will run the user through some safety rules so the rider is familiar with how to operate the bike. The user rides to their chosen destination and the app will show a preferred parking location that comes with an incentive. The user can take a picture of how they parked the bike and submit it in the app. There are 200 bikes available between both cities.

The San Mateo County Transportation Authority, an organization that allocates a half-cent sales tax dedicated to transit needs, awarded both Millbrae and Burlingame $200,000 grants each toward the multi-jurisdictional hybrid bike program, anticipated to launch in the coming months.

The existing status quo requires individual jurisdictions across San Mateo County to develop their own shared micro-mobility programs and guidelines, according to the City/County Association of Governments’ website. However, studies indicated successful multi-jurisdictional programs in Sacramento show that a countywide program here could be deemed necessary depending on the success of this program.

“Overall, I think it has been going really well, not many complaints,” Michael said.

First time Spin users can enter MBsummerfun for a $10 free ride on the Spin app, Michael added.