Tell Bay Area Bike Share Where You Want Stations in the Tenfold Expansion

With a tenfold expansion secured last week, Bay Area Bike Share launched an interactive online map where you can weigh in on where the next wave of stations should go in SF, the East Bay, and San Jose.

The map received 1,500 spot suggestions within the first 12 hours of its launch, said Dani Simons, spokesperson for Motivate, the bike-share operator. The map is powered by the "Shareabouts" tool created by OpenPlans, Streetsblog's parent organization.

Motivate promises to expand Bay Area Bike Share to 7,000 bikes by 2017, with 4,500 in SF, 1,000 in San Jose, and 1,400 in Oakland, Berkeley, and Emeryville. Another 155 bikes would be added in Redwood City, Palo Alto, and Mountain View if those cities opt in to the program by contributing their own funds.

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the public administrator of Bay Area Bike Share, may also issue a grant to study bringing the system to other "emerging communities."

The SF Bicycle Coalition "really encourages San Franciscans to participate in the public planning process so we can create the most dense system possible for our dynamic, growing city," said SFBC Executive Director Noah Budnick in a statement last week.

"Combined with robust transit in this area, [Bay Area Bike Share] will make it easier than ever for East Bay residents and workers to choose an active commute," said Bike East Bay Executive Director Renee Rivera. The organization "looks forward to working with our cities and local businesses on planning a bike-share system that truly serves our communities and boosts our local economy."