Bay Area Bike Share adds 34 station locations in East Bay

Jenny Kempenich of San Francisco returns a rental bike at the Embarcadero and Ferry Building Bike Share station in S.F. Jenny Kempenich of San Francisco returns a rental bike at the Embarcadero and Ferry Building Bike Share station in S.F. Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 13 Caption Close Bay Area Bike Share adds 34 station locations in East Bay 1 / 13 Back to Gallery

The Bay Area’s baby-blue shared bikes, confined so far to San Francisco, San Jose and the Peninsula, are preparing to roll into the East Bay this year.

The first 34 station sites — and 350 bikes — will be sprinkled over a swath that extends through the centers of Berkeley, Emeryville and Oakland in the first phase of a three-part Bay Area Bike Share expansion that will eventually bring 117 stations and 1,500 bikes to the East Bay.

Motivate, the company operating the bike share program for regional transportation officials, plans to announce the station locations Monday. They were chosen after dozens of meetings and surveys of East Bay residents. In the end, more than 5,000 sites were suggested.

Bay Area Bike Share started in 2013, introducing the region to an idea that has become popular in cities across the country, including New York, Chicago and Washington. Under the bike share model, pedalers can purchase annual permits or short-term passes that allow them an unlimited number of 30-minute rides.

The program now has 700 bikes in San Francisco, San Jose, Redwood City, Palo Alto and Mountain View. Most are in San Francisco, and almost entirely in the city’s central core: Union Square, the Financial District and Civic Center.

East Bay eager for program

Folks in the East Bay have been clamoring to join the program since the light-blue bikes hit the roads.

“Since the launch of Bay Area Bike Share in 2013, we’ve heard a strong desire from the community to bring bike share to the East Bay,” said Emily Stapleton, the program’s general manager.

Residents already are looking forward to the chance for more two-wheel travel.

Emily Anderson, 50, a photographer from Berkeley, was excited to hear that the bike-share kiosks were heading to the East Bay. She hopes it will change the flow of traffic and encourage more people to ride by providing an alternative to buying and maintaining their own bicycles.

“I don’t actually own a car anymore; I just bike everywhere,” she said. “It’s a no-brainer to make more bikes available to people out here.”

‘I like that idea a lot’

Roxanne Brian, 32, of Richmond, likes to explore the East Bay on foot. She doesn’t own a bike of her own, but said she might try the bike-share option when it becomes available.

“Oh, I like that idea a lot,” she said. “Making more bikes available opens up the roads, it’s better for the air, cuts down on pollution and car traffic.”

The bikes will be docked at stations with automated kiosks where riders can pick them up or drop them off. By the end of the year, the bikes should be available at 21 stations in Oakland, 10 in Berkeley and three in Emeryville.

The initial network will reach from Shattuck Avenue and Hearst Street in Berkeley to the north to Jack London Square in Oakland to the south. To the west, a station will open at 40th and Horton streets in Emeryville, and to the east at College and Ashby avenues in Berkeley.

In Berkeley, stations will be placed east and south of the Cal campus, mostly downtown. They’ll be clustered around Telegraph Avenue in Oakland as well as downtown and west of Lake Merritt.

“In the first year of our expansion, we’re planning to connect the key commercial corridors in Oakland, Berkeley and Emeryville to provide residents, workers and visitors in these thriving cities with a new and accessible option to travel in and between them,” Stapleton said.

Two more rounds of expansion are planned in the East Bay by 2018, bringing a total of 70 stations to Oakland, 37 to Berkeley and 10 to Emeryville. The system generally expands outward in concentric circles so that people have a variety of locations they can ride to within a half hour.

The move into the East Bay is part of a big Bike Share expansion that will increase the system from its current 700 bikes to more than 7,000. About 4,500 will be located in San Francisco. Last month, the program announced 72 new locations South of Market, in the Mission District and in Duboce Triangle.

Chronicle staff writer Marissa Lang contributed to this report.

Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan

Bike Share maps

Prospective pedalers can view maps showing proposed locations for Bay Area Bike Share stations in Oakland, Berkeley and Emeryville, and offer comments, at a series of displays in the East Bay:

Oakland

Main Library, 125 14th St., April 26-May 9 during normal library hours.

Asian Library, 388 Ninth St., April 26-May 9 during normal library hours.

Temescal Branch Library, 5205 Telegraph Ave., May 3, 4-6 p.m.

Berkeley

Central Library, 2090 Kittredge St., April 26-May 9 during normal library hours.

Claremont Branch Library, 2940 Benvenue Ave., April 26-May 9 during normal library hours.

Emeryville

Town Hall, 1333 Park Ave., April 26-May 11 during normal business hours.