Low-cost e-bike lending program for Oakland residents launches at Fruitvale BART Bike Station with discounts for Clipper START users

The Fruitvale BART Bike Station is now home to a fleet of electric bicycles Oakland residents can borrow for a very low fee.

The City of Oakland selected the station to launch its new e-bike lending program, which allows Oakland residents 18 and up to borrow an e-bike for four weeks for $120. Qualifying low-income residents, including those signed up for Clipper START, pay just $20. Visit oaklandca.gov/ebike for more detailed information as well as qualifications for the low-income discount. The program is funded by a $1.8 million, five-year grant from the Clean Mobility Options (CMO) voucher program.

The initiative helps advance BART's mission to provide affordable and environmentally friendly transportation to the region while leveraging the existing capacity of BART's Fruitvale Bike Station, which offers free valet bike parking, bike repairs, parts, and gear. BikeHub operates the Bike Station for BART and contracted separately with the city to offer the lending service. Lent bikes can be serviced at Fruitvale as well as the Uptown Oakland BART Bike Station at 19th St. Station.

"BART is thrilled to be the first location for Oakland's new e-bike lending program," said Heath Maddox, BART Manager of Bike Access. "BART's bike stations aren't just for securely storing bikes; they serve as a community resource to support and promote bicycling as a clean, affordable, and fun mode of transportation that can get you to and from BART and beyond."

E-bikes help riders travel long distances and climb hills with greater ease than traditional bikes, and BART has embraced them in the system. Like regular bikes, e-bikes are allowed on most BART escalators and in every train car but the first. To assist cyclists with big bikes, BART created this Elevator Dimension Guide that outlines the dimensions of every elevator in the system. BART also recently completed installation of modern bike stairway channels that make it easy to roll your bike up and down stairs at 19th Street/Oakland, 12th Street/Oakland, Lake Merritt, Coliseum, Walnut Creek, Embarcadero, and 24th Street Mission.

As many bike shops and the bicycle industry at large suffer in the post-pandemic bike boom contraction, BART offering full-service bike stations is an important community resource.

"It can be hard to find a shop to fix your bike without the ability to drive it across town," Maddox said. "As full-service local bike shops, our bike stations are filling a real community need."

E-bikes are in high-demand right now, he added, and many people on a budget naturally gravitate towards less expensive online models, "which are often not built to last and can have dangerous electronics."

The e-bike available for lending is the Gazelle Medeo T-9 City, a high quality, Class I e-bike selected specifically for its quality, durability at a low-cost, and easy riding position for riders of all sizes. BikeHub is also encouraging people interested in purchasing their own bike to the Ava Bike Electric program, an incentive offering $400 to $1,500 off new e-bikes.

Learn more about Bikes on BART at bart.gov/bikes.