The six-county Sacramento region is home to more than two million people and is located in northern California between Tahoe and the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2018, the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG), in partnership with the cities of Davis, Sacramento, and West Sacramento, worked with JUMP by Uber to launch a fleet of 900 e-bikes across the three cities. The system had phenomenal ridership in 2019, with more than 1.3 million e-bike trips. The region quickly became JUMP’s second top market globally in total trips.

After disruptions due to the pandemic and the sale of JUMP’s assets to Lime, SACOG and the cities of Sacramento and West Sacramento relaunched bikeshare with Lime, with plans to relaunch in Davis. While the pandemic dampened ridership, the region continued to push for innovative solutions to create a shared micromobility system that increases accessibility and equity, improves the environment, and enhances economic vitality for all residents throughout the region.

The regional bikeshare system in Sacramento and West Sacramento now features a free program for residents with low incomes and will soon offer monthly minute packages through a subsidy and revenue sharing agreement. The cities also have three additional operators that offer shared e-scooters under local ordinances. Last year, riders logged more than 1.2 million trips on approximately 2,000 micromobility devices.

Inspired by NABSA members and their collaborations with university campuses throughout the country, SACOG is now working with the City of Davis, University of California – Davis, and Lime to launch a bikeshare pilot that will feature a fleet larger than the original system. It will include affordable ride passes to bring down the per-trip cost for regular riders and will offer students who qualify for Pell grants the same zero-cost low-income program that is offered in Sacramento and West Sacramento.

With Bike Month around the corner in May, more in-person activities taking place, and spring weather, 2022 is shaping up to be a great year for shared micromobility in the Sacramento region!