To kick-start the new morning service, train commuters between Ventura and Santa Barbara ride free in April.
Paul Wellman

As the date for the new morning train service nears, April 2, Traffic Solutions is getting its bicycle program together to get workers from the station to their job sites. The bike-share program is linked to UCSB’s, which won’t be in place for several months. What they’re doing instead, said Kent Epperson, who leads the agency, is taking enrollment for a folding-bike program.

A $50 fee and refundable, $400 credit-card damage deposit will make the Sun Shortcut bike the rider’s own after 40 train trips over six months. The program is restricted to Ventura County and Santa Barbara County commuters. A folding bike counts as luggage, whereas the train has only seven reserved bike spots. Sample bikes will be at the Santa Barbara and Goleta train platforms April 1-3 and April 16-18, said Epperson, to give riders a chance to evaluate them.

Like the new train service, the pilot program “is all trial and error,” Epperson said. “It’s a big mystery on our part” how the public will react. Details at tinyurl.com/EarnAFoldingBike.

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