Bay Meadows

Get ready to double your fun on a pretty blue bike that’s shared by your neighbors. The City of San Mateo is doubling its Bay Bikes bike share fleet to 100 bicycles by October.

San Mateo originally rolled out its 50-bike bike share system in May 2016 and remains the only city on the Peninsula with a bike share program.

The City’s Bay Bikes are “smart bikes” sold by Social Bicycles rather than the “smart stations” used by the regional Ford GoBike system. The smart bikes carry all technology required to keep track of utilization on the bike itself rather than on the docking hubs. This means the bikes can be returned to any bike rack. Standard bike racks are designated as stations so users know where to find them, but the bikes can be returned elsewhere for a $3 fee.

The bikes are parked at 15 stations throughout San Mateo, including at Bay Meadows and at all three of the city’s Caltrain stations. Riders over age 16 can purchase memberships for $15 per month that allow one hour of free use per day, or rent the bikes for $5 per hour.

“It’s really a last-mile commute solution first and foremost,” said Deputy City Manager Kathy Kleinbaum, who noted that 650 people have purchased memberships so far and that a majority of trips taken using the bikes are between San Mateo’s Caltrain stations and major employment centers.

Yelper Edwin gave Bay Bike Share 5 stars and said, “Service is available 24/7, and you can rent the bikes using your smartphone, or simply go to the designated locations in and around San Mateo to rent or return the bikes. I find this quite convenient because this gives me the option to leave my bike at home and take a nice stroll downtown, and should I decide to buy grocery, I can rent a bike to help me carry it back home.”

A Bay Bike is waiting for you to take it for spin…

Looking for a great place to ride? Bay Meadows and the surrounding San Mateo area are bike friendly and offer many different paths to ride and sights to see. The City of San Mateo even have an easy-to-use bike-sharing system, Bay Bikes. Plus, Bay Meadows has a convenient bike map that you can download here, so you can decide exactly where to ride. Some resident favorites include the Bay Trail as well as Coyote Point Park, and here’s a handy list of 10 sites within a six-mile bike ride. And join the Bay Meadows email list to stay on top of fun dates, such as Bike to Work Day 2018!