Losing everything in the Palisades Fire means losing modes of transportation, something the area has rallied behind assisting evacuees and their families on.
Locally, Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus has suspended fare collection through Sunday, and has been providing shuttles to the Westwood Evacuation Center at 7th and San Vicente. For those that want to have personal means of transit, local bike shops have been offering discounts on e-bike rentals.
One location, The Bike Shop Santa Monica, has been offering nearly half-off on bicycles to evacuees who wanted to ride up and check on their homes, since vehicles have been stifled trying to get into evacuation zones.
“I’ve had a handful of people buy bikes to do it because they lost their bikes in the fire,” The Bike Shop Owner Andrew Smith said. “(The) majority of people want to just rent e-bikes for the day, or a couple days, just so they can get in and check out their place … it’s sad, and I’ve been helping them (out).”
Throughout the week, Smith has been inundated with locals in dire situations, stating he’s lived in Santa Monica for 30 years and has never seen anything like this.
“I had a guy who flew in, he was out of town, (and) his whole house is gone, his cars are gone, everything’s gone, and so he just wants to get around (on) the bike today, just so he has transportation,” Smith added. “He left to look at his house, and he knew it was gone.”
National names in transportation have been assisting as well. Veo, the e-bike and e-scooter company, is currently providing free trips up to $10 to all Santa Monica riders, and is waiving all unlock fees, using the promo code SAFE25. Riders also get an additional $5 discount for anyone riding to the Westwood Recreation Center.
Rideshare services Uber and Lyft are also helping during the troubling time. Evacuees can redeem a free Uber ride up to $40 before requesting a ride to a shelter location, using the code WILDFIRE25. Riders on Lyft can use the code CAFIRERELIEF25, valid for 2 rides up to $25 each from now until Jan. 15 at 11:59 p.m.
