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New Berkeley Bike Station nearly quadruples bike storage capacity

It's never been easier to bike it, park it and BART it in Berkeley thanks to the newly opened bike station at street level above the Downtown Berkeley Station. The new bike station at 2208 Shattuck Avenue provides safe and secure parking for up to 268 cyclists. It replaces the cramped, outmoded bike parking area on the concourse level and dramatically increases the bike storage capacity.

"The new bike station will quadruple the capacity of the former bike station, making it the second largest bike station in the United States," BART Board Vice President Bob Franklin said. "Also, by relocating it up to the street level, the Berkeley bike station will now be accessible 24 hours a day to all members of the community, not just BART riders."

"This bike station is a significant addition to Berkeley, which is  already recognized as one of the most bike-friendly, environmentally committed cities in the nation," Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates said. "The City is proud to partner with BART in providing this facility to foster a clean, green transportation alternative."

The Berkeley bike station is a partnership between BART and the City of Berkeley and the bicycle community of the East Bay. It’s operated under contract by Alameda Bicycle, which successfully operates  BART’s bike stations at Embarcadero and Fruitvale stations. One of the most innovative features offered at the Berkeley bike station is Alameda Bicycle’s "rent to own" program. Alameda Bicycle has a fleet of rental bikes specially equipped for commuters with urban essentials such as racks, bags, lights, and locks. With each rental, half the rental fee will be deducted from the purchase price of bike (the other half covers maintenance costs).  Every time the bike is rented, its purchase price gets reduced.

Other highlights of the new facility:

  • Bike Parking Capacity:
    268 bike spaces;
    155 spaces in triple-decker racks in the valet assisted parking area;
    113 spaces in the smart-card self-park area with double-tier (lift-assist) racks and vertical racks;
  • Free valet bike parking from Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
  • 24-hour Smart-card self-park area; access by using Bikelink card. Parking costs only 3 cents per hour from 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. weekdays, and only 1 cent per hour at all other times (8:00 p.m. - 8:00 a.m. weekdays, and all weekend long.) Available online at www.bikelink.org for $20 and for sale at the bike station
  • Security cameras
  • Restrooms for smart-card self-park users
  • Alameda Bicycle retail area with bike repairs (fees vary), same-day repairs available.
  • Free bike safety-check inspections, estimates
  • Commuter bikes, accessories and equipment for sale
  • Rental bikes equipped with commuter gear - innovative program to rent-to-own bikes
  • Office space for the East Bay Bicycle Coalition

WHY THE BIKE STATION IS IMPORTANT
The new bike station is a significant improvement over the bike station in the concourse level, which has offered free, secure bike storage since 1999 but has grown cramped and overcrowded over time. It was designed to accommodate between 70 and 80 bikes. Recently, demand has been so high that the number of bikes stored often approached 100 with many bikes parked on racks outside the station. The new Berkeley Bike Station was designed to accommodate the high demand for commuter bicycles at the Downtown Berkeley BART station and within downtown Berkeley itself . The new bike station helps bikers abide by the rules BART has in place to prevent overcrowding on trains during our peak commute hours. Providing free, secure bike storage helps make it feasible for cyclists to respect BART’s  "blackout periods."
For more information on BART’s bike rules, see www.BART.gov/bikes.

BIKE STATION IS A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT
Making the Berkeley Bike Station a reality has been a collaborative effort. Constructions costs totaled about $765,000 with funding as follows:

  • $496,784 from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s “Safe Routes To Transit” program
  • $80,000 from a Federal Transit Administration grant
  • $130,000 from the State of California Public Transportation Modernization, Improvement and Service Enhancement account (PTMISEA)
  • $50,000 from BART Capital funds