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Partly Cloudy DecoBike making Long Beach greener
Despite delayed launch, bike-sharing program is considered a success
Two months after it officially began rolling bikes onto Long Beach streets, Miami-based DecoBike’s bicycle-sharing program is being described as a success by the company’s chief operating officer, Bonaficio Diaz.
Last year, the city approved a five-year contract with DecoBike to start and operate the citywide program, making it the first municipality in the state to host a bike-sharing network, Diaz said. It is aimed at encouraging residents and visitors alike to use the bikes as an alternative means of transportation while lowering carbon dioxide emissions.
“It started here in Miami, and [New York] is the second state to have it,” Diaz said in a phone interview. “We’ve had an amazing response here, and people have really grasped the idea.”
He added that the Long Beach program has averaged 250 to 300 rides per day, and that while it has been especially popular among visitors, it has caught on with residents as well. “We’ve seen people coming from the city and grabbing a bike at the train station,” Diaz said. “Others grab the bike for convenience to run an errand or go to the grocery store. At the end of the day, it helps everybody. The more cyclists on the road, the more awareness there is … in terms of safety and of the environment.”
He said he expects the program to have an impact on carbon emissions, based on data the company intends to release next month, when it ceases operations for the year. In Miami, Diaz said, DecoBike has reduced C02 emission by roughly 3.7 million pounds.
In Long Beach there are 14 solar-powered bike rental and sharing stations, most of them in commercial areas and along the boardwalk, with a fleet of 400 bikes that are accessible 24 hours a day. Users can rent them using credit cards, with fees starting at $4 for 30 minutes and ranging up to $24 for eight hours, or they can buy a $15 monthly bike pass for unlimited 30-minute rides. Customers can drop bikes off at any kiosk when they are finished.
The program was set to begin in the spring, but in March city officials postponed it after residents balked at the prospect of stations being set up in residential areas and amid concerns over the locations of proposed bike lanes.
