Skip to Content
Streetsblog San Francisco home
Streetsblog San Francisco home
Log In
Air Quality

On a Hot Streak, Alta Poised to Run Bay Area Bike-Share

The Bay Area's bike-share system will likely be run by Alta Bicycle Share, an American vendor that already operates several systems in North America and Australia.

false

A board committee of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) is expected to recommend selecting Alta tomorrow, according to a memo [PDF] from CEO Jack Broadbent. The memo says that Alta ranked the highest out of six bidders in meeting the agency's criteria.

If awarded the contract, Alta would run a system initially consisting of 1,000 bicycles and 100 station kiosks -- half in San Francisco and the other half in four cities in Silicon Valley. The contract would be capped at $5,969,000, according to the memo.

The Portland-based Alta already runs systems in Boston, Montreal, Melbourne, and Washington D.C., where the wildly successful Capital Bikeshare was recently reported to be nearly operationally profitable. Alta has also been selected to run systems in New York City and Chicago, expected to launch later this year.

In each city Alta has partnered with the Montreal-based Public Bicycle System Company, which manufactures the bikes and kiosks. PBSC also makes the equipment for the Barclays Cycle Hire in London.

Alta Bikeshare is an affiliate of Alta Planning + Design, a bicycle- and pedestrian-focused transportation planning firm which has an office in Berkeley.

The system is expected to be rolled out throughout August and September.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog San Francisco

Oakland’s 7th/8th Street Protected Bike Lane has a Deadly Flaw

This otherwise good project has a terrifying opening in the protection that is going to get someone killed. The slip lane has to be closed immediately

July 16, 2025

Bay Area Transit is Not Out of the Woods

Sacramento gave BART, Muni, Caltrain, AC Transit, and others a lifeline, but the struggle to keep the trains and buses running is far from over

July 16, 2025

Commentary: The French City of Lyon Shows How to Connect Oakland and Western Alameda

An amazing 24/7 bike-ped-transit connection can be made for pennies on the dollar—if the Bay Area can get past its car-brain affliction

July 15, 2025
See all posts