Bike share has officially exploded with not one but at least six bike share companies offering their services and competing for city and individual customers throughout the Bay Area. Read on for an overview of the types of bike share available and the status of our area’s cities.

Last week’s Mountain View City Council vote on Bike Share turned out to be a mixed bag. After learning late Monday that Ford was not willing to sponsor operating costs for any cities on the Peninsula that want to join the Bay Area system expansion, Mountain View city staff was understandably uncomfortable recommending that the city commit to a full 350-bike re-launch.

Last week, Mountain View City Council voted against a staff recommendation to begin negotiations with Ford GoBike, the new iteration of Bay Area Bike Share that is bringing 7,000 bikes to San Jose, San Francisco, and the East Bay. At SVBC, we've made it clear that we supported bike sharing as a viable transportation solution, and were ready to help cities figure out solutions that worked locally. If you’d like to voice your support for Mountain View’s continued participation in regional bike share, send an email today to citycouncil@mountainview.gov or join us tomorrow night at the council meeting – 6:30 pm at City Hall, 500 Castro Street. The bike share decision is item 7.1 on the agenda.