GoBike adds e-bikes in San Francisco
Following close on the rear wheels of San Francisco’s rental scooter invasion, a new creature joined the menagerie of shared alternative transportation devices on the city’s streets Tuesday.
Motivate, which operates the Bay Area’s Ford GoBike bike-share program, rolled out 250 shiny new black bikes equipped with electric pedal assist, parking them at dozens of GoBike stations.
Transportation officials and biking enthusiasts welcomed the newcomer with a group bike ride in Hayes Valley that took 100 cyclists up steep Page Street, which they conquered with ease and little huffing, puffing, panting or sweating.
They were aided by an electric assist, which seems to kick in on the second or third revolution of the pedals, giving a noticeable boost and making it surprisingly effortless to climb a hill.
“This is so easy,” yelled one woman as she reached the crest of the hill.
The Ford GoBikes are not the first e-bikes to hit the streets. Jump reached an agreement with the city to put 250 stationless e-bikes out in January.
Jay Walder, CEO of Motivate, said the e-bikes were added to the GoBike inventory in large part because of the city’s terrain and a desire to make the bike-share system alluring to a larger segment of the populace.
“We love the standard bikes, but think the electric bike opens it up to new users because it helps smooth out the topography of San Francisco,” he said.
The average GoBike ride is now about 2 miles, Walder said, but he hopes the e-bikes will encourage rides in the 3to 5-mile range.
The bikes are part of the Ford GoBike regional bikeshare program funded and overseen by the city’s Municipal Transportation Agency and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission but sponsored by the automaker.
Ford GoBike has 287 stations with 3,600 bikes in five Bay Area cities, including 1,305 bikes at 123 stations in San Francisco. For now, only San Francisco has the ebikes.
The black bikes, branded Ford GoBike Plus, join blue Ford GoBikes that are entirely people powered and docked at stations. Then there are bright red, electric pedal-assisted Jump bikes, locked to bike racks and signposts around the city, and green LimeBike and black Bird and Spin electric scooters that are controversially scattered on sidewalks.
“I think people are going to look at this and say, ‘Maybe I’ll take this instead of Uber or Lyft,’ ” Walder said of Motivate’s e-bikes.
Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan @sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan