LOS ANGELES (CNS) — The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, in partnership with the LA Department of Transportation, announced Thursday it relaunched its electric bike share program on the Westside.
"Coming back stronger from COVID-19 requires us to reimagine how we interact with our public spaces — and that means rethinking how we can access them on two wheels," Los Angeles Mayor and Metro Board Chair Eric Garcetti said. "Bringing these new bike share improvements to the Westside is a clear sign of our commitment to expand clean, healthy transportation options to Angelenos across our city."
The stations are located throughout the Westside and serve many common destinations, which were chosen with help from the community. They include Venice Beach, Abbot Kinney Boulevard, the Rose District, downtown Mar Vista, Motor Avenue in Palms, the Museum of Jurassic Technology, Dockweiler State Beach, the Ballona Creek Bike Path and the E (Expo) Line, allowing people to arrive on the Westside by train and be able to bike to the beach, biking trails and other destinations.
"Bike Share is one of our key initiatives to improve first/last mile access to and from our stations. The combination of transit and bike share can help everyone better access local destinations and help reduce auto trips in our county," LA Metro CEO Phillip Washington said.
LA Metro has planned additional stations to launch along the E Line in Westwood and Sawtelle.
"I'm incredibly excited to give people more options to get around the Westside with the relaunch of Metro Bike Share, now including e-bikes," said LA Councilman and Metro Director Mike Bonin. "Metro Bike Share was already a convenient option for short trips around the neighborhood and to get to the Expo Line. With service now spanning from Playa Del Rey to Sawtelle -- and with the added boost of electric power — everything that the Westside has to offer is just a short bike ride away."
The bike share program on the Westside was temporarily suspended last September while LA Metro removed "smart bikes" from stations because those are not required to be physically docked to a bike share station. The smart bikes also include geofencing that restricts their use outside the Westside area.
The Westside stations, which relaunched in time for Bike Month in May, offer bikes with electric pedal assist that are easier to use than smart bikes and need to be based at the one of the 54 stations on the Westside, which also has 13 more stations in the works.
The Westside stations are part of a larger LA Metro bike share system that has 209 stations and 1,500 bikes across the Westside, North Hollywood and central and downtown Los Angeles.
"The Metro Bike Share Program is redefining personal transportation and public health across Los Angeles," said LA Councilman Paul Krekorian, who also serves on the Metro Board. "The re-introduction of these bikes will enhance the effort by increasing accessibility to other transit options available to Westside residents."
A map of all westside stations and bicycles can be found at bikeshare.metro.net/stations/.