LA Metro has proposed a motion to hand over operation of the Metro Bike Share program to Lyft, a gig work company company notorious for its exploitation of workers. Handing over the bikeshare to an anti-transit corporation -- whose primary business is increasing the number of cars on the road -- threatens the long-term stability of Metro Bike Share. Lyft has a history of taking over bike shares, starving them of resources and staffing, and even shutting down bike share programs once they're no longer profitable. This proposed contract is shortsighted and threatens an important public mobility service and the unionized workers who make Metro Bike Share function.

Help us fight back! We're delivering this petition to Metro Board to show them the people power supporting a strong, fair, and sustainable Metro Bike Share

Dear Metro Board of Directors and CEO Stephanie Wiggins,

We are Save Metro Bike Share - a group of cyclists, activists, and Angelenos who believe the people of Los Angeles deserve a thriving and equitable public transit/micro mobility system to serve its communities. We are deeply troubled by the Board’s initial recommendation for Lyft to take over the bikeshare contract. We urge you to reconsider and not award the contract to a tech corporation whose loyalty lies in its shareholders and profit margins, not the people in the communities they purport to serve.

In an already smog-ridden city, studies have shown that rideshare replaces trips that would otherwise be done on foot, bike, bus or train and rideshare trips are responsible for 69% more pollution than the rides they displace. Lyft is a car company worth $6.38 billion. Why are they interested in public transportation? Take it from Lyft CEO David Risher, who said on an earnings report call in 2023: “We haven't done the job we need to do to make sure that every time a person rides the bike, they get welcomed into the Lyft ecosystem, and frankly, welcomed into the rideshare side of things.” A trend they hopped on in 2018 hasn’t served their CEO or shareholders, and as such they’ve indicated that their bike share systems, and thus many people’s access to public transportation, are on the chopping block.

Lyft dumped $49 million into Prop 22, so we know how they feel about labor. As of January 3, 2024, Shift Transit has only committed to honoring current wages for the unionized staff at the current operator; They have made no commitments to hiring any of the current staff. We are deeply concerned about their approach to hiring seasonal workers (who cannot unionize and are offered no labor protections) in other cities and about the future of TWU’s contract.

Lyft, which subcontracts its bikeshare operations to Shift Transit and Motivate, LLC, operates bike shares in 8 U.S. cities. In New York City, the City Comptroller recently reported significant concerns with Lyft’s performance as the operator of Citi Bike, including: unusable stations, longer periods of station unavailability, and more broken bikes – disproportionately affecting low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. And just last year in Minneapolis, Lyft shut down the Nice Ride bike sharing program in Minneapolis after 13 years of operation, after taking over operations in 2018 and deeming it too expensive to maintain.

And even in our own backyard of Santa Monica, two years ago, Lyft decided that their investment in public transit was simply not worth it; the city had the ability to influence rider rates and encourage equity efforts, which did not serve Lyft’s profit-driven motives.

We are dedicated to advocating for the equitable, sustainable, and community-centered operation of the Los Angeles Metro Bike Share system. In response to concerns regarding the fairness and transparency of the recent bid process, we ask you to:

• Rebid/Renegotiate: We demand that the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) reassess the bid process to ensure fairness and transparency by either reissuing the Request for Proposal (RFP) with standardized criteria for all parties or initiating negotiations with both current and prospective operators under the existing contract terms.

• Uphold Metro's Values: We urge Metro to uphold its values by selecting a contractor committed to customer equity, system quality, environmental sustainability (Net Zero emissions), genuine community engagement, accessibility, fair treatment of workers, and partnership with labor unions for Metro Bike Share.

The people of Los Angeles deserve uninterrupted access to a well-maintained fleet of bicycles. The people of Los Angeles deserve good union transit jobs. The people of Los Angeles deserve cleaner, safer streets. The people of Los Angeles deserve more than the bare minimum Lyft is promising.

We urge you to reconsider your initial recommendation and uphold your values. Please, do not award the Metro bike share contract to Lyft.

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