Horrible idea! As a Bay area resident I can tell you why.

1) The roads are to small and congested as it is. The last thing needed is an infusion of tourists on bikes who don't know how to get around the city, don't understand the dangers of SF roads and stop in the middle of the street to take pictures.

2) The Cops hardly have the man power to go around collecting all the bikes that WILL be taken. The city is packed to the gills with Homeless, Crackheads and those "make everything free" crowd who will either use it like they own it or will sell the bikes off. GPS will not work because they will figure out a way to disarm it.

3) Vandalism and theft is rampant in the city, more than half the bikes will be inoperable in the first year easily.

Despite the fact it is going to be run by a secondary company, the fact is the city and it's taxpayers will have to carry the burden of this boondoggle. The city council has already gone mad with power and something like this will simply make them more apt to stick it to drivers in the city to finance this mess.

Personally I would love to see the financial data showing the profits and losses for this idea in other cities. My guess is it's a money pit.

nourishthespirit, I don't think our city has the money to be funding programs like these. Let's get out of the red before we ask the city for this sort of stuff.

That being said, I think this is great. The only thing I don't like about ZipCar is that you have to return the vehicle to the same lot as you got it from. Hopefully, the Bike Sharing program will let you return the bike to any bike lot.

If it's anything like the bike share program in Montreal or Barcelona it would be great. Small fee but convenient and easy to use. But the program has to roll out full force so that the bikestations are everything and not just a pilot program that becomes a novelty.

This is a very exciting program indeed! But, if we're going to mention car sharing organizations, let's not forget about the Bay Area's first, greenest,(and ONLY not-for-profit) CSO, City CarShare.

They launched this in DC a couple years ago, and it didn't really catch on. Hopefully this will be a more successful launch!

I think this bike sharing program is much needed in our bike-friendly city by the bay. If they can etch out a price that's affordable for the newly graduated and recently employed population then I'm game to be an early member. Would love to get updates on this program and if they could launch sooner than late 2011, the better!

These programs are hugely successful in Europe. There's nothing like seeing Paris or Barcelona on a bicycle! That being said, those places are flat! The bikes tend to be heavy with only three gears. It will be interesting to see how the project works in hilly san Francisco where drivers aren't inherently aware of bikers and pedestrians alike. Nonetheless, I am looking forward to it and think its a progressive move. I've often wondered why new York hasn't adopted the program. It makes great sense there!

I can't wait! I keep wanting to buy a bike, but the cost/storage/risk of theft is prohibitive, so this will definitely get me on 2 wheels. (Assuming they will have stations in the Mission.)

finally.. just like Paris..

Looking forward to checking it out!

Seems kind of silly to pay as much as a cab to ride a bike. Best to just get one's own with a good lock, helmet, and bike bags.
But it definitely is a good step. I just think the city should cover the cost, that'd be a great incentive.