Bike Share

[PhilmerPhil]

Just a reminder that there's pay as you go membership option! For $15, it will add 30 days to your key fob. After the 30 days are up, there is no automatic charge for the next month. It'll only charge you another $15 if/when you check out your next bike after those days are up. Effectively you're paying a little more if you use it all season long, but if you're a light user, you may have gaps between your month-passes, and you're probably not using it in April or October.

I just wanted to point that out, since it seems like an appropriate option for someone with usage habits like Matt's.

[mattaudio]

Also, I have spare bikes that guests staying with me can use, but it's also nice to give our out of town guests an extra GoTo card and a Nice Ride keyfob during their visit... Minneapolis hospitality!

[mamundsen]

I haven't had a NiceRide subscription since 2012 (last year at the U), but I'd say my usage was sort of in the middle of MNdible's assumption and Phil's "lifestyle"

If starting a trip from home, I'm likely to use my own bike. If I took a bus downtown or to campus, etc., I'm likely to use a NiceRide to get around within those areas and for the trip home too. For my current usage levels, the price is a bit too high for me. I'd probably subscribe "just for fun" and to feel good about supporting the system if it was like $40/year, regardless of usage. Or if it was available more than 7 months, I'd maybe spring for the $65 or whatever it is now.

Another possible reason for a superfluous subscription would be so that a visiting friend or relative has easy access to a bike. You have your own, and you have the NiceRide subscription ready to go for a buddy (or a date!)

I've never used NiceRide, but I've thought about trying it since I sold my bike a few years ago. I am just a casual leisure biker. It is a faster way to see more than taking a walk. My biggest problem is that I don't have a station nearby. The closest is 3/4 of a mile away from where I live near Como Park. I don't think I would ever use it to commute to work in downtown Minneapolis. The one idea I've had for using it would be to ride the Green Line after an event, (the 61 doesn't run late hours) then bike north on a NiceRide rather than waiting for a 65 bus.

I have thought maybe I'd use it for $30 for the summer season. Memorial to Labor Day. Maybe this year I'll give it a try... $15 for 30 days seems worth it even if I only use it 3-4x.

[twincitizen]

Yeah, if you're going to do the $6 for 24 hours, you might as well go for the $15 for 30 days option.

I'll also note that there are ample opportunities at various festivals, Open Streets, etc. to pick up a free 30-day subscription if you're a "new" user.

[mamundsen]

Good idea! A free 30-day as a new user then stack 1-2 of the $15 for 30-day and I could cover the prime of summer for $30!

Only problem now is we can't take family rides with mini me. (4 month old)

[MNdible]

To be clear, I wasn't suggesting that because people own bikes, they shouldn't/wouldn't ever use NiceRide. Just that with limited resourcces for expansion, it makes sense to focus expansions on areas dense with people who likely find themselves without their own bikes.

I mean, we wouldn't expect there to be a bus stop at 24th and Pleasant, right?

[PhilmerPhil]

Okay, I see the point you're making, but I just had to say that there is a bus stop on 24th & Pleasant.

Also, I'm not sure that comparing mobile bikeshare stations to bus routes that have to follow a path along streets that can support them is valid.

[MNdible]

Okay, I see the point you're making, but I just had to say that there is a bus stop on 24th & Pleasant.

Yeah, I know. That was supposed to be a little joke. I've caught the bus there many times -- although every time I do, I think that it's a weird place for a bus stop.

[twincitizen]

Looking at the map, 38th & Grand and/or 38th & Nicollet would be ideal expansion spots to extend the network south-ish.

I'm thinking more and more that I'm going to subscribe this summer. With the station at Bogarts (36th & Bryant) so close by, it will be fairly easy to convince the girlfriend to ride to places we already go - like Calhoun Square, Lunds, Tin Fish, Linden Hills, etc. Maaaybe even 26th & Nicollet if she gets more confident on the bike. The route options for extreme novice riders get a little dicier once you have to cross 28th, 26th, not to mention riding on them. I think just getting her comfortable with the Bryant Ave "Bike Blvd" (the crappy part between Lake & 36th) is going to be a major step.

[matt91486]

"Most of the new stations were funded by the National Park Service and are required to be within 1/4 mile of the MNRRA and north of St. Anthony Falls. Those will all be in downtown, the North Loop, and Northeast Minneapolis with a couple near the U of M."

So it sounds like we'll be getting more recreational stations again, and less "inspansion" like they wanted to do a couple years ago. There are some serious gaps in the existing network that really need to be filled in. I'd like some stations in denser residential areas, for example residents of north Whittier could probably really use a station at 24th and Pleasant. I have friends that live near 18th and 3rd Ave S in Stevens Square, and the Nicollet and Franklin station is quite a hike for them, which really takes away from Nice Ride's utility and convenience.

Well, having denser coverage in Downtown isn't a terrible thing. I think it's ridiculous there isn't one at every single light rail station. Otherwise, Washington and 7th N, get bar/restaurant traffic there? 2nd and 4th NE would be a good spot, as would actually putting one in Nicollet Island. I'm guessing it's too far away, but Bottineau Park would make sense as a just barely-inching forward expansion in NE.

[matt91486]

Has there been any news on where the handful of new stations are going? (/have gone, if no one just posted on it)

I believe the timeline was midseason, and now that we're in July, I think we definitely qualify as in the realm.

[mullen]

this has become recreational service serving lakes, river. look at the whole swath of s mpls with zero stations. the original intent of this bike share was for daily commuting, service trip use. sadly it's evolved into a recreational amenity as that jives with american's view of biking as a recreation. they realized early on they make more money renting bikes to people who want to circle the lakes. so basically replaced the former places renting bikes near calhoun. 36th and bryant is the southernmost station. not including the falls/river. half the city is not served with a station.

so if u need a bike near minnehaha falls or lake calhoun it's awesome. if you live south of lake st not so much. i was told by a nice ride rep that they didnt need stations in s mpls because people living there already owned bikes. nice generalization there.

[bubzki2]

It helps, though, when these types of things don't require public subsidy. Some of the most profitable stations were near lake Calhoun, which allowed for other stations in areas where they would never pay for themselves. I did find it interesting though how they totally made an about face on the lake stations, which they initially purposely avoided.

[Viktor Vaughn]

The Park Board originally had an exclusive contract with another bike rental company. They had to let that contract expire before they could put nicerides on park property.

[MNdible]

this has become recreational service serving lakes, river. look at the whole swath of s mpls with zero stations. the original intent of this bike share was for daily commuting, service trip use.

Um... I'm pretty sure that nobody suggested that NiceRide's intent was to serve daily commuters. This was always going to be a convenience/recreation type thing. And I'd echo the NiceRide reps comments: for the cost of an annual pass, you can get a serviceable used bike that will be lighter and maybe have other features that you'd want in a commuter. Maybe there should be a program to give out free bikes to people who need them (I'd wager that this already exists), but it doesn't make sense to have NiceRide service this part of the market.

If there was unlimited funding to operate and subsidize losses, then yes, by all means, put a station every two blocks. Until that happens, it absolutely makes sense to service the parts of the city that are generating the highest demand and expand to other adjacent high demand locations.

[gpete]

But it's a nice amenity as part of the Twin Cities' transportation network. I own a bike, but I love the flexibility of taking a NiceRide somewhere, and then maybe I'll bus home instead, or use Car2Go. It's too bad they rushed to expand into St Paul; from the ridership numbers, it looks like that's been a drain on the system.

[matt91486]

Um... I'm pretty sure that nobody suggested that NiceRide's intent was to serve daily commuters.

Their initial materials do suggest that was one of the aims.

"According to Jonathan Sage-Martinson, Director, the bike sharing system is a great ‘last mile' solution, extending the area served by light rail to businesses, schools and neighborhoods a short bike ride away."

https://www.niceridemn.org/news/2011/03 ... _2_funding

[thatchio]

There is one in Linden Hills and while near the lake, it's in a business/residential district. Yes, it was frustrating for me being south of 50th to not have a NR station nearby, but if you look at the map, a huge swath of Minneapolis is covered and does provide meaningful non-recreational service. For a city of its size, Minneapolis has a damn decent bike share program.

In terms of expansion in South Minneapolis, I'd hope the next area added would be along 38th Street, such as Nicollet, 4th, Chicago, in between Bloomington-Cedar, and eventually 23rd. Eventually 46th/Nicollet, 46th/Bryant, 50th/Bryant, 54th/Lyndale, DLR/Nicollet, 48th/chicago, 50th/France, and many of the business nodes across south Mpls. The same could be said about NE and N.

[MNdible]

Last mile and daily commute are definitely not the same thing.

[matt91486]

While true, it strongly implies a non-recreational usage with some form of regularized trips.