Metro Bike Share launches in Pasadena on Friday — the first expansion of the system that began in downtown Los Angeles last summer.

In Pasadena, Metro and its contractor, Bicycle Transit Systems, Inc., will install 30-plus stations throughout the city. Key destinations accessible via Metro Bike will include Old Pasadena, Paseo Colorado, the Playhouse District, South Lake Avenue, Levitt Pavilion (Memorial Park), Pasadena City College, Caltech and the Rose Bowl, among others.

What is bike share?

Think of it as a short-term bike rental in which you can take a bike from a station and return it to another station. There will be more than 30 stations in Pasadena.

Metro is promoting bike share as a good travel option for destinations that may be too far to walk but too close to drive. Many of the bike share stations in Pasadena are near busy transit stations/stops and/or popular destinations.

What are the bikes like?

Very comfy to ride with three gears and lights for those riding at night. If you need a helmet, please bring your own.

How much does it cost?

There are three options for riding:

And there’s this for those who want to save some money:

Click here to visit the Metro Bike Share page and sign up for a pass. The free monthly pass starts the day you sign up so to get the most out of it in Pasadena, you may want to wait until July 14.

Passholders can also link their TAP card to their Metro Bike Share account. The benefit of doing that: you can use the same TAP card to ride transit and to unlock bikes. That’s very convenient for frequent riders.

Walk-up users can pay at the bike share station kiosks and will need to have a credit or debit card.

What are some places to ride?

Generally speaking, there are relatively few bike lanes on the busy arterial streets in Pasadena but there are some pretty mellow residential streets that are great for riding. If using Google Maps to navigate, you may enjoy taking a route that is a little longer but uses quieter residential streets.

As for some ideas about how to use Metro Bike in Pasadena and where to ride:

•Gold Line Allen Station to Pasadena City College — If you don’t want to ride on busy Allen, take the bike lane on Maple to Sierra Bonita to campus.

•The bike lanes on Cordova Street are a great way to ride between PCC and the businesses on Lake Avenue. Cordova is also good for riding to destinations between Arroyo Parkway and Lake. There are no bike lanes on this stretch yet, but there are parking lanes and room to ride on the right side of the road.

•The bike lanes on Wilson Avenue are a good north-south option for those who want to avoid riding on busy Lake Avenue. And San Pasqual is a good east-west option between Wilson and Rosemead Boulevard (that includes cutting through Caltech campus on a big walkway that cyclists also use).

•From the Gold Line’s Lake and Allen stations, Corson Street runs parallel to the 210 freeway and has a bike lane for eastbound travel while Maple Street, on the north side of the 210, has a bike lane for westbound travel. It’s not the most scenic of rides, but it’s a relatively quick way to get across town, although there are a lot of traffic signals.

•The bike lane on Raymond is a good option for north-south travel near the Fair Oaks Avenue corridor north of the 210.

•The 3.1-mile loop around the Rose Bowl is popular with cyclists. It’s slightly uphill when heading north (toward the mountains) and slightly downhill on the southbound side.

•Fillmore Street is a good option to travel between the Gold Line’s Fillmore Station, Lake Avenue and Caltech.

•To avoid riding on busy Arroyo Parkway, go one block to the east and use the bike lanes on Marengo Avenue between Glenarm Avenue and Del Mar Blvd.

Is there a Metro Bike app?

Yes, and you can use it to:

Check real-time bike and dock availability

Buy a Monthly or Flex pass

Contact customer service by chat, phone or email

Find the nearest station to your location

See how long your bike has been checked out

Renew your pass or view your trip history

Search for specific stations or places in the city

The app is available from the Apple App and Google Play stores.

Can I participate in the launch party on Friday?

You bet!

Metro has a group ride-off to several destinations that will begin at Pasadena City Hall at the intersection of Garfield and Holly.

If you want to ride, please RSVP and select your preferred station destination. The festivities on Friday begin at 9 a.m. and the ride-off happens at 10:30 a.m.

The closest Metro Rail station to the event is the Gold Line Memorial Park Station. After exiting the station, turn left onto Holly Street and walk .2 miles to City Hall, which is kind of hard to miss 🙂

What’s next for bike share?

The next expansion will be at the Port of Los Angeles on Monday, July 31. The Metro Bike launch in Venice will be later in the summer — the exact date will be announced soon.

Finally, here is a very thorough FAQ for other bike share-related questions.

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