Capitola City Council OK's Bikeshare Program
CAPITOLA — A regional bikeshare program that has been in the works for many years could soon roll through the streets of Capitola after clearing an important hurdle with city leaders.
The Capitola City Council recently gave its city manager the go-ahead to execute a five-year professional services agreement with BCycle to establish a minimum of 50 electric bicycles and 100 accompanying docks within its city limits. The docked bikeshare system essentially gives community members the ability to unlock a BCycle bicycle using an online app which they can ride about town for a fee before parking it at a designated dock when finished. The bicycles can be parked at any dock within a participating jurisdiction in Santa Cruz County.
“One reason why we selected BCycle is because the bicycle has to be docked at the end of the ride,” said Capitola Community Development Director Katie Herlihy, hinting at issues the region has previously encountered with bikeshare programs that had no such requirement. “If someone were to rent a bicycle and leave it somewhere, they would pay a large fee to BCycle.”
Herlihy added that a robust bicycle ridership is a key component of the city’s General Plan, Bicycle Transportation Plan and Climate Action Plan “in order to decrease our impact on CO2 emissions.”
The city had been working toward this program since 2018, before putting it on pause in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived. The intention was reignited in 2021 after a regional working group was formed to help usher in a uniform bikeshare service across Santa Cruz County. The group includes UC Santa Cruz, Cabrillo College, Santa Cruz County and the cities of Watsonville, Capitola and Santa Cruz and it selected BCycle as its topic choice in 2021.
But the council did pump the brakes for a moment before providing a unanimous vote of approval.
Councilmember Yvette Brooks asked for assurances that BCycle – based in Wisconsin – hires a customer support manager for the region before the program launch, which is expected in Capitola within 18 months. She also received clarification that the council must approve the final map of docks before they are placed and a BCycle representative said that the docks are relatively easy to install and remove, should it become necessary to do so.
Newly elected Councilmembers Alexander Pedersen and Joe Clarke both shared concerns about the cost of the service, particularly for low-income city residents. According to the staff report an annual subscription for unlimited 30-minute trips is $150, while a monthly subscription for the same is $30. For one-time or “walk up pass” service, the fee is $7 per each 30 minutes with a daily maximum of $75.
However, within the working group agreement BCycle said it is willing to pursue bulk-member pricing programs for students and low-income residents. BCycle’s Director of Sales and Customer Service Brian Conger said it did not have a price specifically for Capitola yet, but said it had successfully created low-income cost structures in other regions as well as partnerships with libraries and local businesses that help reduce participation barriers.
Helmets are not required to use BCycle, though Herlihy said it has partnered with local bicycle safety organizations such as Ecology Action to encourage safe practices. Users must also be 18 or older to sign up for the rideshare program.
According to the staff report, a total of 660 BCycle e-bikes – owned and manufactured by Trek Bikes – and 1,320 docks will be placed from Watsonville to Santa Cruz. The bikeshare infrastructure is slated to be installed first at UC Santa Cruz and the city of Santa Cruz more broadly within six months, followed by the remaining regions in 18 months.
The programs will come at no cost to the jurisdictions and will be fully owned and operated by BCycle.
“I’m really excited about this program,” said Pedersen. “Longtime coming for a bikeshare program in this area and I think it’s a great service.”