Members of the UCSF community gathered at meeting spots at the Embarcadero and Castro & 17th for the Inaugural UCSF Bike Bus last Tuesday. Bike buses, caravans of cyclists commuting together, offer safe, sustainable, and fun ways for people to get to work or school.
This event, the first of many UCSF Bike Buses to come, was hosted by the campus group Bikes! at UCSF in collaboration with the SF Bike Bus and sponsored by the UCSF Academic Senate and UCSF Transportation.
SF Bike Bus Co-founder, Molly Hayden, showed up prepared with a speaker and bubbles. For her, bike buses are more than a commute option; they are a rolling party or, as she calls it, a ‘reverse parade’.
“Instead of traveling through the city, you are literally a part of it, you are seeing sights, obviously, but there are sounds, there are smells, there are interactions you can have people in the bike lane, in cars, on the sidewalk, that you wouldn’t normally have with people in the bus or in car,” Hayden said.
“I really enjoy being part of the fabric of the city that way and actually absorbing it rather than just moving through it,” Hayden said.
Bikes! at UCSF Officer Ali Mirzazadeh led a cohort of cyclists from Embarcadero to Mission Bay at the inaugural UCSF Bike Bus. Photo credit: Jared Marsh
Bike buses also make commuting to work greener. Research shows swapping a car for biking to work just one day a week can reduce a commuter’s carbon emissions from transportation by 67%.
Plus, according to the Spring into Motion platform, a 30-minute bike ride at a moderate speed is the equivalent of 6390 steps, making biking to work the healthy choice for the people and the environment.
It can also reduce the cost of transportation for San Francisco residents who spend on average over 12% of their income on transportation, according to research cited in the UCSF Bike and Micromobility Plan.
Bikes! at UCSF Officer and Communications Specialist in the UCSF Division of Prevention Science, John Hamiga, shared what makes cycling to work impactful for him.
“For me, biking is about connection—connection to place, to people, and to my own sense of movement and freedom. It’s a way to experience the San Francisco at a human pace. I notice things I’d never see from a car: small changes in the neighborhood, a new store, someone’s new mural, a blooming flower. It’s also a reset. No matter how stressful the day is, a bike commute brings me outside, clearing my head."
Biking also allowed Hamiga to tap into a community of like-minded cycling enthusiasts and bike ambassadors.
“I’ve met thoughtful, passionate people through biking —folks who care about equity, sustainability, safer streets, and joy. This impact, both personal and collective, keeps me riding,” Hamiga said.
The Inaugural UCSF Bike Bus culminated in a morning break for coffee and treats at Philz Coffee in Mission Bay. Photo credit: John Hamiga.
The UCSF Bike Bus is designed to accommodate bikers of all levels and includes a brief safety lesson and volunteer ‘sweeps’, bikers who make sure no one is left behind.
According to Hayden, one of the biggest things that prevents people from biking is that they don’t feel safe. Bike buses provide safety in numbers with slower group rides in safe car-free spaces.
Plus, Hayden says, organizers are more than happy to help new bikers locate connected slow streets for low-stress ways to navigate the city.
“There is community out there, you just have to reach for it,” Hayden said.
Bikers arrived at Mission Bay and celebrated with bubbles and music. Photo credit: Sarah Cronin.
Riders can join the next UCSF Bike Bus hosted on Thursday, May 15, for a special ‘Bike to Wherever’ day ride finishing at the Mission Bay Energizer Station for refreshments, repairs, and swag. Additional Bike Buses will happen in the following weeks on Thursday, May 22, and Thursday, May 29. See a full list of Bike! at UCSF events on their calendar.
UCSF Transportation also offers a Commute Concierge service that helps new urban commuters find safe bike routes to campus. You can up for a consultation online.
Story cover photo credited to Sarah Wasinger.