Monday marked the 1 millionth bike share ride since the Santa Cruz BCycle program was launched in 2023.

Santa Cruz BCycle is a system of electric bikes, which can be rented out through the BCycle app. There are currently 71 docking stations and over 350 e-bikes across Santa Cruz, Capitola, the UC Santa Cruz campus and a few unincorporated parts of the county.

The program was launched in June 2023 with the goal of making bikes more accessible. Now, just over three years in, 1 million trips have been taken on BCycle e-bikes. The milestone is on track with the expected success of the system, said Claire Gallogly, principal transportation planner for the city of Santa Cruz. It also shows that bike-share programs, most commonly found in larger cities, can also work in bike-friendly smaller cities.

“Hitting that 1 million mark is definitely something that we knew was achievable and we feel really, really happy to see that we’ve realized it,” Gallogly said.

The program advances the city’s sustainability and transportation goals by encouraging people to use bikes instead of driving. If all of the 1 million-plus BCycle rides over the past three years had been car trips, they would have resulted in the emission of over 2 million pounds of greenhouse gases.

The city noted that the e-bike-share program can also help fill in gaps between public transit, parking lots and destinations, providing more options for Santa Cruz residents to get where they need to go.

The city of Santa Cruz has a goal that 30% of all trips taken in the city will be bike trips by 2035. The city is encouraging biking not only because it is a sustainable mode of transportation, but because it can reduce traffic congestion and wear and tear on roads.

In April, Santa Cruz City Schools launched a permit program that requires middle school students to complete a safety course intended to help young e-bike riders understand the rules of the road, and to educate parents about which e-bikes are safe and legal for their children to ride. Upon the expansion of e-bikes on city roadways, the initiative serves to educate young riders on how to move predictably and safely on shared roads.

The electric bike-share program is one of many ways the city aims to make biking more accessible. Gallogly also noted city efforts, including improved infrastructure such as separated bike lanes and the rail trail, as well as bike programming in schools and communities. The idea, Gallogly said, is to meet people where they are and offer sustainable transportation options that suit their needs and abilities.

Santa Cruz BCycle is a collaboration between Revolution, which runs the program, Santa Cruz County, Cabrillo College, UC Santa Cruz, and the cities of Santa Cruz, Capitola and Watsonville. The program comes at no cost to any of the partner jurisdictions — all the expenses are taken on by BCycle, which also takes the revenue from the bike-share.

Right now, Gallogly said, the system is a bit pulled back in terms of the number of bikes and stations. The city is looking to expand the program, especially as the rail trail project progresses. The statistics BCycle keeps track of, including total mileage and average trip distance, will help inform the city’s planning for the electric bike share program and transportation throughout the city.

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