While some resent GoBike, these people say the bike-sharing program is changing their lives

Michael Corcoran, a regular user of shared bicycles, checks out the Ford GoBike fleet in front of the Ferry Building in San Francisco, Calif. on Wednesday, June 28, 2017. The Bay Area-wide bike sharing service, which plans a fleet of 3,500 bicycles by Labor Day and as many as 7,000 by the end of 2018, went into service today. less Michael Corcoran, a regular user of shared bicycles, checks out the Ford GoBike fleet in front of the Ferry Building in San Francisco, Calif. on Wednesday, June 28, 2017. The Bay Area-wide bike sharing service, ... more Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle 2017 Buy photo Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle 2017 Image 1 of / 19 Caption Close While some resent GoBike, these people say the bike-sharing program is changing their lives 1 / 19 Back to Gallery

GoBike quickly got a bad rap in the Bay Area.

Reports of vandalism popped up in the news in recent weeks and some longtime residents are begrudging the bike-sharing program, saying it's geared to rich newcomers who are working in tech, buying luxury condos and pushing out longtime residents.

"We're letting corporations do whatever the hell they want, while the everyday folk don't count," Roberto Hernandez, a lifelong resident of the Mission district, told the Guardian for an Aug. 21 article on how GoBike has become a symbol of gentrification. "When you look at the transportation privileges that have been provided for these techies, and when you now look at these bikes, it's not for Juan. It ain't for Pablo ... The feeling of people in this community is like we don't exist."

But while some might disdain the cycling system, others are using the bikes and saying they're improving their daily lives.

Take San Francisco resident Leslie, who shared in an email with SFGATE that's he's "absolutely thrilled" with the program. He asked to not use his last name in this article for fear of retaliation from people who resent GoBike.

"I've been able to get rid of my car (which has freed up a parking space for other neighbors to use)," he wrote. "I recall reading on Nextdoor that other folks have also been able to give up their cars, thanks to the bikes. One person particularly made me smile, as they said they had already lost something like 2 or 3 pounds in weight and were hoping to lose another 10 — or something like that!"

He added: "I've not weighed myself yet, but perhaps I should get on the scales! I must admit, the cycling makes me feel better than I have in a while! Plus I don't have to worry about thieves stealing my own bike or stealing bits from my bike."

Edith Harbaugh of SF is another GoBike fan who uses the program to get around the city to meetings. "It's easier, cheaper and more fun than taking taxis," says Harbaugh, the CEO of Oakland-based software company LaunchDarkly.

The Ford-sponsored GoBike program allows users to ride its sky blue–colored bikes among 200 docking stations located in SF, Oakland, Berkeley, Emeryville and San Jose. Users can pay $3 for a one-way trip, $10 for a day pass or $150 for a year of unlimited use.

The program was introduced on June 28 and in its first eight weeks, 6,000 people signed up and 100,000 trips were logged.

"The stories have skewed to talk about this new thing that a small number of people are having a strong reaction to, but what hasn't been reported is the thousands of members who are using the bikes," says Paolo Cosulich-Schwartz, a spokesperson for Motivate, the company running GoBike. "This is a transportation project and program that will help people get around. It's affordable. It keeps cars off the road and improves air quality and really impacts the quality of people's daily lives."

The system will expand to more than 500 stations through 2018, and SF resident and GoBike member Scott Halstead says the widespread availability makes one-way trips possible. He recently hopped on a bike to go to a Giants game and then took Muni home.

"I got to the game in 22 minutes," he says. "That's faster than any other form of transportation I could have taken."

He also used GoBike to ride from the south side of the city to Civic Center for a meeting.

"I left the bike there because I needed to pick up my kids and take Muni home," he says. "The beauty is the one way. Knowing there's a place you can drop it off."

Halstead says he's never had an issue with arriving at a docking station that's full and he uses the app to make sure there's plenty of room to park a bike at his destination before leaving.

"I was a little bit nervous the first time," he says. "I checked before I left and there were plenty of spaces. I've never had trouble. The same thing works on pickup. If I'm at my house and I want to go to a meeting, I want to make sure there's a bike available."

And then there's SF local Hilary Schiraldi, who used GoBike on a whim when she missed the bus one August evening after her workday as a librarian at UC Berkeley.

Schiraldi was in a rush to get home to meet some out-of-town visitors for dinner and and decided to download the app and plug in her credit card number. Three minutes later, she unlocked a bike from a docking station near the Haas Business School Library and was zipping downhill to the Downtown Berkeley BART station, where she parked the bike at another GoBike station.

"It saved me time and it was super fun," says Schiraldi, who now uses GoBikes in her commute between SF and Berkeley about four times a week. "I probably sound like a super shill for them, but I love it."