The Town is about to get even more stylish with the addition of thousands of flashy mint green bikes.
Thursday morning, a proposal between Bay Area Bikeshare and national bike-share operator Motivate was approved to bring thousands of new bikes to the Bay Area, including 1,400 for Oakland, Berkeley, and Emeryville by mid-2016.
Currently, the Bay Area has about 700 bikes under a pilot program, with most in San Francisco. The expansion would increase that number to 7,000 bikes, including more than 4,000 in San Francisco. Oakland and other parts of the East Bay would get about 1,400 bikes, with stations ranging from downtown Oakland to the far reaches of East Oakland.
After the meeting Wednesday morning, Motivate showed off its distinctive seafoam-green, five-speed bicycle that will appear at stations in Oakland. The bikes have front and rear lights embedded in the hollow frame that also hides the brake and gear cables. A generator in the front hub powers the lights whenever the rider pedals and will stay on for a few minutes at rest.
Riders would pay $149 a year for a pass, which allows pick up and drop off of bikes at set docks, and with discount memberships available for those who qualify. The company plans to have all its added bikes available by 2017.