SANTA BARBARA — Despite the rainstorm hitting Santa Barbara for the next few days, the electric bike program is still expected to launch this morning at 7 a.m.
Around 75 electric bikes will be installed in the black docking stations located all around the downtown region.
The pilot program, BCycle, installed the stations in late December on every block on State Street from Sola to Gutierrez, along with side streets.
The end goal of the program is to install 250 electric bikes in 500 docks throughout the city. In three years, city officials will decide whether or not to keep the bikes around.
To ride, install the BCycle app on any smartphone and create an account to find directions to the closest available bike and unlock it. From there, the bikes cost $7 every 30 minutes, or riders can purchase a year-long membership for $150, which includes unlimited free 30-minute trips, and an additional $3 for every additional 30 minutes.
The bikes will be sanitized daily by a team of BCycle employees.
— Grayce McCormick
