Transportation officials unveiled a bike shuttle service Thursday that will ferry cyclists across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge after the bike path closes later this month, drawing praise from some riders and frustration from others who say it defeats the purpose of cycling.
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission and Bay Area Toll Authority demonstrated the shuttle trailer at Marina Bay Park, inviting cyclists to test whether their bikes would fit and provide feedback before the service launches on October 27.
"This is a pilot that will run through the end of 2028. As we get more feedback, we could also fine-tune the trailer and make adjustments," said James Go, a principal engineer at MTC and BATA.
The shuttle will run Monday through Thursday, operating between a bus stop off Castro Street in Richmond and Vista Point in Marin County. Service hours are 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, and 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, when the bridge path is scheduled to reopen. Two shuttles will operate during morning commute hours, from 6 to 10 a.m., because traffic delays will lengthen crossing times.
The trailer can accommodate up to 10 standard bikes or e-bikes, with a front hitch that can hold two additional bikes. The demonstration included testing adaptive bikes, including hand-pedaled cycles and three-wheeled bikes used by people with disabilities.
Greg Milano, director of Inclusive Cycling International, a Berkeley-based nonprofit, brought three adaptive bikes to test the trailer. While the bikes fit, he noted the shuttle lacks wheelchair accessibility.
"I would hope that in the future, they have a van that's a wheelchair accessible vehicle with a lift," Milano said. "I think sometimes there's a tendency to think that the cycling community doesn't include people with disabilities, and so that when you're doing a cycling thing, it doesn't have to be accessible, and that's wrong, and that's a mistake."
The shuttle service is being implemented as transportation officials install a movable barrier on the bridge to restore an emergency shoulder during peak traffic periods and to make a third eastbound traffic lane on the bridge's lower deck permanent. The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission approved the changes in August.
MTC contemplates return of Richmond Bridge breakdown lane
If everything goes to plan, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the folks in charge of the Bay Area’s eight state-owned bridges, will open a dedicated lane for Richmond Bridge drivers to break down or chat after a fender bender. Bike East Bay Advocacy Manager Dani Lanis said MTC’s executive director told
Soren Hemmila
The barrier will close the bike path Monday through Wednesday and Thursday mornings, with pedestrians and cyclists maintaining access Thursday afternoons and all day Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and select holidays. The shuttle provides a free alternative for those who need to cross during closure hours.
Not all cyclists welcomed the solution. Dani Lanis, an Advocacy Manager with Bike East Bay who attended the demonstration, expressed disappointment with losing direct access to the bridge path.
"The project initially, I wish it didn't exist. We are taking away a lot of access, and this is just a plan to make up for that, and it's very unfortunate," Lanis said. "I don't usually choose to hop on a van and have to strap my bike to it in order to go across a body of water. I want to cross it on my own pedal power."
Point Richmond resident and cyclist David Atlas praised the service.
"I like the service, and I like the fact that they're doing it in loops, and they're gonna pick up closer to Point Richmond, where we live. It's all positive," Atlas said.
Officials have been communicating with bike coalitions since proposing the project, Go said, and will use feedback from the demonstration to make minor adjustments before the October 27 launch date.
The shuttle service will be free for riders.
As part of the Westbound Improvement Project, MTC, BATA and Caltrans will collect data on motor vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian travel through the Richmond-San Rafael corridor to study the feasibility of establishing a part-time bus/carpool lane and a part-time bike/ped path on the upper deck. BCDC required the agencies to develop preliminary performance thresholds for the feasibility study and present them for approval by May 2026.
More information is available at www.mtc.ca.gov/rsrpath.
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