UCLA Transportation to launch bike share program on campus in October

This article was updated Sept. 26 at 2:51 p.m.

Students will soon be able to rent bikes from stations around UCLA and Westwood using a mobile application.

Starting Tuesday, UCLA Transportation will be launching the Bruin Bike Share program, which will allow students, staff, faculty and visitors to borrow bikes for an annual or monthly fee, according to the program’s official website.

Individuals can reserve a bike using Social Bicycles, a third-party mobile application, and check it out from one of 18 designated hubs on campus and in Westwood. Renters can then return the bike to any hub when they are finished riding.

UCLA students, faculty and staff members will have access to discounted membership rates at $60 a year or $7 monthly. Individuals not affiliated with UCLA will be charged $69 a year or $25 monthly, according to the program’s website.

Both options allow for a maximum of 90 minutes of riding per day. Students and faculty can also pay $7 an hour to ride if they do not want full membership.

David Karwaski, senior associate director of UCLA Transportation, said that while the program was originally set to launch in spring 2017, a delay in bicycle deliveries pushed the program to an early October release. He said this gave UCLA Transportation more time to finalize hub locations and legality for the program.

[Related: Bike share program rolling onto campus this spring]

Karwaski added UCLA Transportation is working with Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and Santa Monica to integrate Bruin Bike Share with their bike share programs. He said UCLA Transportation anticipates full integration with the programs in 2018.

Zahra Hajee, undergraduate student government facilities commissioner, said she thinks the program will help students who need a faster way to get around campus but do not own bikes.

However, Hajee said she thinks the program could restrict commuter students’ accessibility to campus because UCLA Transportation will designate Portola Plaza area as a pedestrian priority zone to make the area safer for bicyclists. Vehicle access, including for Uber and Lyft pick-ups, will be limited in this area.

“Their biggest thing right now is promoting UCLA as a very healthy, a very sustainable campus,” she said. “But they should also prioritize commuter students as well.”