Skip to Content
Streetsblog California home
Streetsblog California home
Log In
Streetsblog LA

Open Thread: The Race for the First Bike-Share in L.A. County

BikeShareFINJoke1-940x520
Image: ##http://www.longbeachize.com/long-beach-may-be-first-city-in-la-county-to-implement-bike-share##LongBeachize##

There's been a slow war between three Los Angeles County cities to see who would be the first to have an official, large-scale bike-share system. Sorry, Beverly Hills, your 50 bike system doesn't count.

This week Santa Monica, Long Beach and Los Angeles all had some news on the bike-share front. It appears that Santa Monica is now in the pedaler's saddle. According to Assemblymember Richard Bloom, who wrote in Santa Monica Next's comments section, CycleHop could have bikes on the ground within weeks.

Meanwhile, Long Beach was staking claim to first-in-the-county status, but just announced this week that its contract with NextBike had fallen through and it was also moving forward with CycleHop. CycleHop will be working with a local operator and needs to sign a contract with said operator soon.

Last, Streetsblog Los Angeles unearthed a contract for a thousand-bike bike-share system to come to the City of Los Angeles via Metro (LACMTA) in early 2016. This being Los Angeles County, the city/Metro contract will of course have a different technology than the ones in Santa Monica and Long Beach, raising some disgruntled murmurings from civic leaders in Santa Monica.

Many people that read this site are in California cities that already have bike-share. So, help us out! What should the three L.A. County cities be looking for as they bring their systems online? What should residents and other bike-share users expect during those first weeks? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog California

StreetSmart7: Sam Speroni and Automobile Debt

In StreetSmart Episode7, Streetsblog California editor Damien Newton and Sam Speroni from UCLA discussed the unequal distribution of car ownership costs in Los Angeles, using data from 2021 to 2023. 

May 23, 2025

Friday’s Headlines

CA vs. Republicans is national news, but there's plenty of other news happening around the state.

May 23, 2025

Metro Quietly Withdraws Lyft Bike-Share Contract Vote

The current twice-botched will-they-won't-they procurement process is not doing Metro Bike Share any favors.

May 22, 2025

SGV Hikes and Bikes: Duck Farm River Park

Tucked in the crook of the 605 and Valley Boulevard is some much needed breathing room for the East Valley.

May 22, 2025

Revealed: MTC Canceled Bridge Bike Lane Meetings Because Staff Findings Showed it Should Stay Open

Thanks to a public records request from Bike East Bay, we now know why two public hearings were cancelled at the last minute.

May 22, 2025
See all posts