Nice Ride Minnesota

Bike sharing system in the Minneapolis and St. Paul Minnesota area

Nice Ride Minnesota

Bikes at a Nice Ride MN station

Overview
Owner| City of Minneapolis
Locale| Minneapolis – Saint Paul, Minnesota
Transit type| Bicycle-sharing system
Number of stations| 190
Website| niceridemn.com
Operation
Began operation| June 10, 2010; 15 years ago (2010-06-10)
Ended operation| November 13, 2022; 2 years ago (2022-11-13)
Operator(s)| Lyft
Number of vehicles| 1,700

Nice Ride Minnesota was 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.[1][2] 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.[3]

As of 2011, the system offered 1,700 bicycles for rent at 190 kiosks in both Minneapolis and St. Paul.[4] 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.[3] 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.[5]

The system did not reopen after the end of the 2022 season, as Blue Cross Blue Shield, the main sponsor, announced it would not renew its sponsorship contract.[6]

## Memberships and fees

[edit]

There were two ways to use the Nice Ride system, as a passholder or a member. Passes were available for 24 hours or 30 days and memberships included 30-day and 1-year options. Memberships had to be purchased or redeemed through the Nice Ride website, while passes could be purchased by credit or debit card at individual station kiosks for $6 (24 hours) or $18 (30 days). Members received an RFID "key" which was inserted into a slot on the bike dock to unlock a bike. Using a key to unlock a bike only took a few seconds, while the process of purchasing a 24-hour or 30-day pass and getting subsequent rentals required more user interaction with the kiosk.[7]

There was no limit to the number of trips allowed during a pass or membership period. For passholders, there was no additional charge for the first 30 minutes of each trip. Alternately, members got a full 60 minutes between stations with no additional charge. However, trip fees racked 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).[7] This fee structure was 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 incurred any fees.

In the 2010 and 2011 seasons, Nice Ride placed an authorization hold on the credit or debit accounts of 24-hour subscribers per bicycle rented (24-hour subscribers can rent two bikes per credit/debit card at a time).[8] The holds were initially set at $250 when system was launched in 2010, which caused problems for some customers—particularly those who had used debit cards, where it was possible cause an account overdraft.[9] Prior to the system's launch, there was a concern that a large percentage of the bicycles would be stolen—especially in light of the Vélib' system in Paris, France, which had a theft rate of more than 50% in its first 18 months,[10] and previous experience with theft and vandalism of free bikes provided by the Yellow Bike Coalition in Saint Paul a decade earlier.[11] However, those worries proved to be unfounded with the new Bixi-based system—only one bike was counted as stolen in the 2010 season, and no bikes were lost or stolen in 2011. The authorization holds were reduced to $50 a few months after the June 2010 opening and were removed entirely for 2012.[12]

## System rollout and expansion

[edit]

The Nice Ride system was first put in place in areas near downtown Minneapolis and has been expanded in multiple phases. The system expanded into western areas of neighboring Saint Paul in summer 2011 and had its first stations deployed in downtown Saint Paul in June 2012, bringing the total number of bikes to 1,328 and stations to 146.[13][14] In May 2013, the system were further expended with the installation of 24 additional stations, mostly located in southern Minneapolis or along the Mississippi River,[15] raising the total number of bikes to 1,550 and the total number of stations to 170.[16]

Nice Ride was criticized by residents in North Minneapolis, an economically disadvantaged part of the city, when the initial deployment of bikes in June 2010 was focused around downtown Minneapolis and areas south of downtown (which tend to be more densely populated than the city's north side). It took until the second phase of deployment in 2010 for the neighborhood to get stations.[17] The first stations in North Minneapolis appeared along Broadway and at Summit Academy and International Market Square.[18]

Startup funding for this program was $3.2 million; major contributors included Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, the City of Minneapolis, and a federal transportation grant from the Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program.

## Ridership

[edit]

Year | Date opened | Date closed | Days in operation | Ridership | Ridership per day | Stations

|
|
|
|
|
|

2010 | June 10 | November 7[1] | 150 | 100,817[1][2] | 672[19] | 65[19]
2011 | April 8[20] | November 6[21] | 212 | 217,530[22] | 1,026[19] | 116[19]
2012 | April 2[23] | November 4[24] | 216 | 274,045[25][26] | 1,269[19] | 145[19]
2013 | Before April 10[27] | November 3[28] | 207 | 305,000[29] | 1,473 | 170[29]
2014 | April 11 | November 2 | 205 | 409,000[30] | 1,995 | 170[31]
2015 | April 1 | November 1 | 214 | 483,223[32] | 2,258 | 190[33]
2016 | April 4[34] | November 6[35] | 216 | 432,284[36] | 2,001 | 198[31]
2017 | April 3[36] | November 5[37] | 216 | 460,718[38] | 2,133 | 201[39]

## Technology

[edit]

The platform behind the bike share system is created by 8D Technologies, who also supply the server technology for BIXI Montréal, Citi Bike in New York City, Santander Cycles in London, Capital Bikeshare in Washington DC, and others.

## Future Plans

[edit]

On January 16, 2018, Nice Ride Minnesota announced[40] that it had chosen Motivate's proposal for transition of the Twin Cities’ bike share system.

## See also

[edit]

* List of bicycle-sharing systems
* List of shared-use paths in Minneapolis

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Mitch Vars (November 9, 2010). "2010 Season Comes to a Close with Over 100,000 Rides". Nice Ride Minnesota. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
2. ^ a b Andre Eggert (November 10, 2010). "Nice Ride program tops first-year goals". Minnesota Daily. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
3. ^ a b Danielle Nordine (June 9, 2010). "Minneapolis to launch bike-share system". Minnesota Daily. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
4. ^ Goodyear, Sarah (2 August 2011). "Bikeshare makes for a Nice Ride in Minneapolis". Grist. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
5. ^ "Nice Ride 2011 season ends November 6". Nice Ride Minnesota. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
6. ^ Cassel, Em (2023-03-01). "There Will Be No Nice Ride Program This Year—and Likely Ever Again". Racket. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
7. ^ a b "How it Works". Nice Ride Minnesota. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
8. ^ "Subscriptions". Nice Ride MN. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
9. ^ Tom Held (July 1, 2010). "A glitch in the system: Minneapolis bike share creating cash flow problems". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
10. ^ "Thefts puncture Paris bike scheme". BBC News. February 10, 2009. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
11. ^ "Yellow Bike Program Keeps Pedaling Away". St. Paul Pioneer Press. September 16, 1995. p. 1B. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
12. ^ "Nice Ride Now Open". Cycle Twin Cities. April 3, 2012. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
13. ^ Bill Dossett (March 21, 2012). "2012 Nice Ride Season Begins 1st Week of April". Nice Ride Minnesota. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
14. ^ "Nice Ride Minnesota Announces Locations for New Stations". Nice Ride MN. Archived from the original on 2013-08-13. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
15. ^ "Nice Ride Planned 2013 Expansion Locations" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
16. ^ "Nice Ride Minnesota Adds 24 More Stations". CBS Minnesota. May 28, 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
17. ^ Brandt Williams (June 23, 2010). "North Mpls. cyclists feel left out of bike sharing program". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
18. ^ Hart Van Denburg (June 25, 2010). "The Blotter: North Minneapolis may see some Nice Ride action". City Pages. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
19. ^ a b c d e f Jessica Schoner (December 21, 2012). "2012 Best Trend (Hint: It's not the Apocalypse)". Streets.MN. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
20. ^ Mitch Vars (April 9, 2012). "2011 Season Kicks Off with a Few Issues". Nice Ride Minnesota. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
21. ^ Mitch Vars (October 27, 2011). "Nice Ride 2011 season ends November 6". Nice Ride Minnesota. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
22. ^ Ross Abbey (November 16, 2011). "Minnesota bike-sharing system records a winning season". Fresh Energy. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
23. ^ "Drum roll please..." Twitter / Nice Ride Minnesota. April 2, 2012. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
24. ^ "Today is the last day..." November 4, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
25. ^ "274,045 - thanks everyone, see you in April!". Twitter / Nice Ride Minnesota. November 4, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
26. ^ Brandt Williams. "Record year for Nice Ride bike share". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
27. ^ "Notice of system shutdown due to weather".. Note the system was partially shut down several days in April 2013 and these days were not taken off of the count of active days.
28. ^ "Nice Ride 2013 Season ends November 3rd". Retrieved November 16, 2013.
29. ^ a b "Nice Ride Minnesota: Ambitious plans set for 2014 season". Star Tribune. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
30. ^ "Nice Ride Minnesota pedals to a banner year, weighs winter cycling". Retrieved December 23, 2014.
31. ^ a b 2015-16 Annual Report (PDF) (Report). Nice Ride Minnesota. p. 25. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
32. ^ "Official Tally: 483,223 trips in 2015, up from 408,485 in 2014". Retrieved November 4, 2015.
33. ^ "Adding 20 New Stations to The Nice Ride System". Retrieved November 4, 2015.
34. ^ "Nice Ride launches 2016 season with renewed support from title sponsor". Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, Center for Prevention. March 30, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
35. ^ Mitch Vars (October 26, 2016). "Last Day of Season - Sunday Nov 6th". Nice Ride Minnesota. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
36. ^ a b Tim Harlow (March 28, 2017). "Nice Ride Minnesota headed for Monday opening". Star Tribune. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
37. ^ Mitch Vars (October 23, 2017). "Last Day of Season - Sunday Nov 5th". Nice Ride Minnesota. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
38. ^ "System Data". Nice Ride Minnesota. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
39. ^ Bill Dossett (August 28, 2017). "Request for Proposals for Transition of Twin Cities Bike Sharing System". Retrieved April 4, 2018.
40. ^ "Nice Ride MN - Nice Ride Minnesota Chooses Motivate". www.niceridemn.org. Archived from the original on 2018-04-10.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Bicycle-sharing systems

List of bicycle-sharing systems

Asia|

| East Asia|

* Anywheel (Singapore)
* CityBike (Kaohsiung, Taiwan)
* Ddareungi (Seoul, South Korea)
* Gobee.bike (Hong Kong)
* Hoba Bike (Hong Kong)
* Ketch' Up Bike (Hong Kong)
* Hangzhou Public Bicycle (Hangzhou, China)
* LinkBike (George Town, Penang, Malaysia)
* LocoBike (Hong Kong)
* Mobike (China and Singapore)
* Moov Technology (Singapore)
* SG Bike (Singapore)
* YouBike (Taiwan and China)

|

South Asia|

* JoBike (Bangladesh)
* Tiruchirappalli Bicycle Share (India)

West Asia|

* Antbis (Antalya)
* Bdood (Tehran, Shiraz)
* Bisim (İzmir)
* Cyacle Bikeshare (Abu Dhabi)
* Esbis (Eskişehir)
* İsbike (Istanbul)
* Kaybis (Kayseri)
* Kobis (Kocaeli)
* Sambis (Samsun)
* Tel-O-Fun (Tel Aviv)

Central Asia|

* Astana Bike (Astana, Kazakhstan)

Europe|

* in multiple countries: nextbike
* Donkey Republic
* Lime
* Bolt
* Rekola (Czechia, Slovakia and Estonia)

* countrywide: Call a Bike (Germany)
* OV-fiets (Netherlands)
* Beryl Bikes (United Kingdom)

* in one city: Aarhus City Bikes
* Belfast Bikes
* BicikeLJ (Ljubljana)
* BiciMAD (Madrid)
* Bicimia (Brescia)
* Bicing (Barcelona)
* BikeMi (Milan)
* BuBi (Budapest)
* Bycyklen (Copenhagen)
* Dublinbikes
* Helsinki City Bikes
* Forest (bike share) (London)
* İsbike (Istanbul)
* Oslo Bysykkel
* Santander Cycles (London)
* Sevici (Seville)
* Stockholm City Bikes
* Styr & Ställ (Gothenburg)
* Valenbisi (Valencia)
* Vélib' Métropole (Paris region)
* Vélivert (Saint-Étienne)
* Vélo'v (Lyon)
* Velobike (Moscow)
* Vélopop' (Avignon)
* Veturilo (Warsaw)
* Villo! (Brussels)

North America|

| Canada|

* Bike Share Toronto
* BIXI Montréal
* VeloGo (Ottawa)
* Mobi (Vancouver)
* Hamilton Bike Share

|

Mexico|

* EcoBici (Mexico City)
* Mi Bici (Guadalajara)

United States|

* B-Cycle: Austin B-Cycle
* Aventura B-Cycle
* Battle Creek B-Cycle
* Bike Chattanooga
* Boulder B-Cycle
* Broward B-Cycle
* Bublr Bikes (Milwaukee)
* Charlotte B-Cycle
* Columbia County B-Cycle
* Denver B-Cycle
* Des Moines B-Cycle
* Fort Worth B-Cycle
* Great Rides B-Cycle (Fargo)
* GREENbike (Salt Lake City)
* Greenville B-Cycle
* Heartland B-Cycle (Omaha)
* Indego (Philadelphia)
* Indiana Pacers Bikeshare (Indianapolis)
* Kansas City B-Cycle
* Link Dayton Bike Share
* Madison B-Cycle
* Metro Bike Share (Los Angeles)
* Nashville B-Cycle
* Rapid City B-Cycle
* Red Bike (Cincinnati)
* Roseburg B-Cycle
* San Antonio B-Cycle
* Spartanburg B-Cycle

* others: ArborBike (Ann Arbor)
* Arcata Bike Library (Arcata)
* Bay Wheels (San Francisco Bay Area)
* BICI Bike Share (Albuquerque)
* Biketown (Portland)
* Bluebikes (Boston)
* Boise GreenBike
* Capital Bikeshare (Washington, D.C.)
* CAT Bike (Savannah)
* Citi Bike (New York City; Jersey City)
* CoGo Bike Share (Columbus)
* Citi Bike Miami
* Divvy (Chicago)
* Healthy Ride (Pittsburgh)
* Lime
* Relay Bike Share (Atlanta)
* Richmond Bikeshare
* WE-cycle (Aspen)

Oceania|

* Airbike
* Lime (Australia)

South America|

* Bike Rio (Rio de Janeiro)
* Lime (Santiago de Chile)
* EcoBici (Buenos Aires)

Companies|

* BCycle
* Bolt
* Deutsche Bahn
* Donkey Republic
* JCDecaux
* Lime
* Motivate
* Nederlandse Spoorwegen
* Nextbike
* Lyft Urban Solutions
* Rekola
* Scoot Networks
* Serco
* Fifteen
* Spin

Defunct|

* 8D Technologies
* Baltimore Bike Share
* Bluegogo
* BIP! Perpignan
* CityCycle (Brisbane)
* Copenhagen City Bikes
* Helsinki City Bikes (1st generation)
* Houston Bcycle
* Jump Bikes
* Melbourne Bike Share
* Nice Ride Minnesota (Minneapolis-Saint Paul)
* oBike
* ofo (China)
* Ola Pedal
* OYBike (Reading and Farnborough)
* Pronto Cycle Share
* Santander Cycles Leicester
* SmartBike DC
* SMARTBIKE Puebla
* ToBike (Turin)
* Vélo à la carte Rennes
* Velodi Dijon
* Vélib' (1st generation)
* V'eol Caen
* Velcom Plaine Commune
* Wukong Bicycle
* Zagster

* v
* t
* e

Bixi-based systems

Current|

* Bike Share Toronto
* Bixi (Montreal)
* Bluebikes (Boston)
* Capital Bikeshare (Washington D.C.)
* Citi Bike (New York City)
* Divvy (Chicago)
* Bay Wheels (San Francisco Bay Area)
* Melbourne Bike Share
* Santander Cycles (London)

Former|

* Capital Bixi (Ottawa/Gatineau)
* Nice Ride Minnesota
* Pronto Cycle Share (Seattle)

* v
* t
* e

Transit in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area

* Metropolitan Council
* Go-To card
* List of routes
* List of stations

Transit operators|

* Metro Transit
* Metro
* Maple Grove Transit
* Minnesota Valley Transit Authority
* Plymouth Metrolink
* SouthWest Transit
* University of Minnesota PTS

Light rail transit|

*      Blue Line
*      Green Line

Bus rapid transit|

*      Gold Line
*      Orange Line
*      Red Line
*      A Line
*      B Line
*      C Line
*      D Line
* U of M Transitway

Commuter rail|

* Northstar Line

Intercity rail|

* Borealis
* Empire Builder
* Saint Paul Union Depot

Expansion|

| Light rail|

*      Southwest LRT (2027)
*      Bottineau LRT (2030)

|

Bus rapid transit|

*      E Line (2025)
*      F Line (TBD)
*      Purple Line (2029)
*      G Line (TBD)
*      H Line (TBD)
* Riverview Corridor (TBD)

Commuter rail|

* Northstar extension (TBD)
* Commuter rail projects in Minnesota

Intercity rail|

* Northern Lights Express (TBD)
* Chicago Hub Network
* Intercity rail projects in Minnesota

Cancelled|

* Dan Patch Corridor
* Minneapolis Modern Streetcar
* Rochester Zip Rail
* List of cancelled transit projects in Minnesota

Historical|

* Counties Transit Improvement Board
* Nice Ride Minnesota
* Twin City Rapid Transit
* 1917 streetcar strike
* Minnehaha
* Commuter rail
* Great Northern
* Northern Pacific
* Minneapolis & St. Louis

Other|

* Metro Transit rolling stock
* Minnesota Streetcar Museum
* Como-Harriet Streetcar Line
* Minneapolis
* Streets
* Trails
* MnDOT
* MSP Airport Trams
* Passenger rail projects in Minnesota

* v
* t
* e

Twin Cities trails

* City of Minneapolis
* Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
* Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
* Three Rivers Park District

Dakota
County|

* Big Rivers Regional Trail
* River to River Greenway
* North Urban Regional Trail
* Minnesota River Greenway
* Mississippi River Greenway
* North Creek Greenway

Minneapolis|

* Cedar Lake Trail
* Diagonal Trail
* Dinkytown Greenway
* Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway
* Hiawatha LRT Trail
* Kenilworth Trail
* Little Earth Trail
* Loring Greenway
* Luce Line Trail
* Midtown Greenway
* Min Hi Line
* Minnehaha Falls Lower Glen Trail
* Minnehaha Trail
* Samatar Crossing
* Southwest LRT Trail
* St. Anthony Falls Heritage Trail
* Winchell Trail

Minnesota Department
of Natural Resources|

* Gateway State Trail
* Luce Line Trail
* Minnesota Valley State Trail

Ramsey
County|

* Birch Lake Regional Trail
* Bruce Vento Regional Trail
* Crosby Farm
* Hidden Falls
* Highway 96 Regional Trail
* Rice Creek West Regional Trail
* Trout Brook Regional Trail

Three Rivers
Park District|

* Bassett Creek Regional Trail
* Cedar Lake Regional Trail
* Dakota Rail Regional Trail
* Lake Independence Regional Trail
* Lake Minnetonka Regional Trail
* Luce Line Regional Trail
* Medicine Lake Regional Trail
* Minnesota River Bluffs Regional Trail
* Nine Mile Creek Regional Trail
* Nokomis-Minnesota River Regional Trail
* North Cedar Lake Regional Trail
* Rush Creek Regional Trail
* Scott West Regional Trail
* Southwest LRT Trail
* Shingle Creek Regional Trail
* Twin Lakes Regional Trail

Other|

* Mississippi River Trail (MRT)
* Trails in Minneapolis

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