Santa Monica Debuts GPS-Enabled Bikeshare

At long last, the Los Angeles area will have bikeshare. On the well-off westside, a high-tech program called Breeze Bikeshare "is deploying 500 bright-green rental bikes at 75 racks in Santa Monica and four in neighboring Venice [...] The service is intended for short, point-to-point trips rather than all-day rentals," according to an article by Laura Nelson.

Santa Monica's bikes will be equipped with GPS tracking and a fare card scanner, allowing patrons to leave (and pick up) their ride at just about any bike rack rather than specially-designated ones. They'll pay an extra two dollars for the privilege.

There has been some jockeying between Breeze Bikeshare and L.A. Metro's more traditional system, set to begin service this spring. "[Metro] is pushing forward with a separate bike-share program, using different bikes and a different payment model, prompting concerns that dual systems could confuse or frustrate consumers. [...] The initial Metro system will include 1,100 bikes in an area extending from downtown to the University of Southern California campus near the Coliseum."