The Countdown to Ford GoBike’s Launch Begins

• Ford GoBike to launch in late June  
• Founding memberships now available through FordGoBike.com website 
• Riders will be able to unlock and use Ford GoBike using the Clipper® card or the Ford GoBike mobile app
• "Bike Share for All" will make Ford GoBike available to Bay Area residents—regardless of income

Officials from MTC, Ford Motor Company and Motivate today announced that the San Francisco Bay Area’s eagerly anticipated regional bike share network will launch at the end of June.

The new Ford GoBike program represents a ten-fold expansion — from 700 bikes to 7,000 — beyond the existing pilot program known as Bay Area Bike Share. In tandem with today’s launch announcement, the new fordgobike.com website was unveiled, which offers the immediate availability of special, limited-edition Founding Memberships. Officials also outlined plans for bike share’s first-ever integration with regional transit via the Clipper® card along with details of the "Bike Share for All" program, which includes discounted membership options available to low-income residents. 

Ford GoBike stations will open in San Francisco, the East Bay and San Jose on a rolling basis starting in late June. By the end of this summer there will be 3,700 Ford GoBike bicycles throughout the Bay Area. By the end of next year, Ford GoBike will include 7,000 bikes at 546 Ford GoBike stations spanning San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Berkeley and Emeryville.  Ahead of the new program’s launch, and to allow for the installation of new hardware and software, the Bay Area Bike Share pilot program’s last day of service will be Sunday, June 11. Current members will see their memberships extended and rolled into the new program. 

FordGoBike.com goes live — with limited-availability "Founding Member" specials

Ahead of the launch later this month, Ford GoBike is introducing “Founding Memberships,” which will be limited to first 1,000 members to sign up at the new Ford GoBike website at FordGoBike.com. Founding members get a discount on membership price ($124 annually, $25 off the regular price) as well as a commemorative Ford GoBike branded Clipper® card and invitations to regional launch events.

Clipper now a key to bike share

In another innovation announced today, accessing the Ford GoBikes will be easier for Bay Area commuters as for the first time, Clipper® cards will act as a key to unlock the bikes. Riders can link their Clipper® card (any Clipper® card will work, including the new commemorative Ford GoBike card) to their Ford GoBike accounts, and use the card to unlock a bike from any Ford GoBike station. Riders can also unlock bikes using the Ford GoBike mobile application. Clipper® cannot be used for bike share payment at this stage, however.

"Bike Share For All" expands access for underserved communities

Officials also announced the start of “Bike Share for All,” the nation’s most comprehensive bike share equity program. The program — which includes outreach, engagement, discounted pricing, and other improvements — reflects the groundbreaking commitment of Motivate and MTC to expand transportation access to communities traditionally underserved by transportation options.

As part of this commitment, Motivate is placing at least 20 percent of stations in MTC-designated communities of concern, and providing a discounted membership option for low-income residents. MTC and Motivate have created a $260,000 outreach fund to help educate lower income residents and residents whose first language is other than English about how bike share works and to raise awareness about the availability of the discounted memberships.

The "Bike Share For All" discounted membership option announced today offers a $5 introductory first-year membership rate to all Bay Area residents enrolled in PG&E CARE, CalFresh or San Francisco Muni’s Lifeline Pass programs. After their $5 introductory year, “Bike Share For All” members will be able to continue their memberships for the still-steeply discounted fee of $5 per month. Qualifying residents can sign up for the program now on the Ford GoBike website using a credit or debit card. Cash-paid memberships are available for purchase in-person at The Hub (located at MTC’s headquarters at 375 Beale Street in San Francisco) beginning June 1, and will be available by June 28 at staffed BikeHub-operated bike stations. "Bike Share for All" memberships also extend ride times to a full one-hour for every trip (15 minutes longer than trips available with standard memberships).

About Ford GoBike

The Ford GoBike system is a partnership announced with Ford Motor Company in September 2016 that enables global bike share operations leader Motivate and MTC to implement the second largest bike share network in the U.S. — and the nation’s largest system as measured by bike share bicycles per capita — at virtually no cost to taxpayers. The program will deploy bike share stations every few blocks in San Francisco, from the Bay to the beach. It will link East Bay neighborhoods throughout Oakland, Berkeley and Emeryville, and dramatically expand bike share in San Jose. The new regional bike share program is administered via a contract with MTC. FordGoBike.com.

About Motivate

Motivate is a global leader in bike share. A full-service bike share operator and technology innovator, Motivate works to re-envision how people experience and move around cities. Motivate powers over 56,000 bikes across four continents. Motivate systems, including Citi Bike in New York, Divvy in Chicago, Capital Bikeshare in the D.C. area, Hubway in the Boston area and BIKETOWN in Portland, Ore. were responsible for over 80 percent of bike share trips taken in 2016. Motivate also operates Ford GoBike in the San Francisco Bay Area, which is beginning a ten-fold expansion to 7,000 bikes this June. www.motivateco.com.