Nice Ride Minnesota

Nice Ride Minnesota

Bikes at a Nice Ride MN station
Overview
Locale	Minneapolis – Saint Paul, Minnesota
Transit type	Bicycle sharing system
Number of stations	190
Website	NiceRideMN.org
Operation
Began operation	June 10, 2010
Number of vehicles	1,700

Nice Ride Minnesota is a seasonally operated nonprofit bicycle sharing system in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota based on the BIXI brand created by Public Bike System Company and first used in Montreal. Launched on June 10, 2010, it served over 10,000 trips in its first month and reached 100,817 rides in the first season of operation. The bicycles in the system are manufactured by Cycles Devinci. They are painted fluorescent green and include a cargo carrier and headlights. They receive daily maintenance, and are redistributed throughout the system via truck.

The system presently offers 1,700 bicycles for rent at 190 kiosks in both Minneapolis and St. Paul. The solar-powered kiosks are distributed throughout much of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Bike availability can be checked in real-time via smartphone or an online map. In the long term, the network is intended to cover most of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Nice Ride operates from the first week of April through the first week of November. The bikes and stations are removed during the winter in order to protect them from damage (particularly corrosion from road salt) and make way for snow plows.

There are two ways to use the Nice Ride system, as a passholder or a member. Passes are available for 24 hours or 30 days and memberships include 30-day and 1-year options. Memberships must be purchased or redeemed through the Nice Ride website, while passes can be purchased by credit or debit card at individual station kiosks for $6 (24 hours) or $15 (30 days). Members receive an RFID "key" which is inserted into a slot on the bike dock to unlock a bike. Using a key to unlock a bike only takes a few seconds, while the process of purchasing a 24-hour or 30-day pass and getting subsequent rentals requires more user interaction with the kiosk.

There is no limit to the number of trips allowed during a pass or membership period. For passholders, there is no additional charge for the first 30 minutes of each trip. Alternately, members get a full 60 minutes between stations with no additional charge. However, trip fees can rack up quickly—particularly after 90 minutes without redocking the bike—reaching up to a daily limit of $65 after 7 hours of use (in addition to any pass or membership fee). This fee structure is designed to encourage short trips, keep bikes available, and push customers desiring multi-hour trips to use for-profit rental businesses rather than the subsidized bike-share service. Only about 2% of trips incur any fees.