Photo by Sam Brueggeman Photography
Nice Ride green bike under a bridge
Let this be remembered as the summer Nice Ride gets nicer—and bluer. Earlier this month, those nifty key lime two wheelers got scooped up by a new operating group—North America’s bike share leader, Motivate. The New York-based company will add 1,500 new, dockless bikes to Nice Ride’s existing fleet this summer, kickstarting the organization’s transition to what will eventually be an entirely parking-station-free operation. They are also lowering the cost per-ride to $2 from $3, or $1 for Nice Ride Bike Share app users.
"When we first heard about this new dockless wave about two years ago, we realized we didn’t have the resources to launch a dockless bike system here in Minneapolis and do a good job of it," says Melissa Summers, Nice Ride general manager. "Motivate does."
Through at least the end of Nice Ride’s federal contract (2021), the dockable versions will remain in rotation, and the new free-rangers will be painted blue so riders can tell the difference. The other major change is the unlocking/relocking process: docked bikes can be freed using the mobile app or by swiping a credit card at the actual parking station, then need to be hooked back up to an available stall, post-ride.
The dockless squad, on the other hand, will require the use of a new mobile app to open a circular lock on the back tire to start and the same app to close it back up at the end. The blue crew can be dropped off in any of the hundreds of virtual parking zones (soon to come). Each bike is built out with a GPS system, so riders will also use the app to identify which bikes are available and where they can be found.
In the long run, the dock-free system is probably more efficient, more grab-and-go. But for other cities that’ve made the move to an off-the-rack system, the transition has felt sorta like flying down a rocky mountain trail with no brakes. The Washington Post reports that almost half of D.C.’s dockless fleet has been lost to theft or vandalism, and it’s not uncommon to see the colorful frames in scrap-yard condition stashed in oddball places—abandoned in creeks and beside highways. Chicago recently mandated that all dockless bikes must be locked back up to "some physical object," like a street sign, in hopes of keeping the sidewalks clutter-free.
“There’s going to be a learning curve,” Summers says. “We’re going to have to do some public education with people, like, ‘no, you can’t just leave it anywhere.’”
Plus, there’s only so much sidewalk space. Nice Ride has to share the lanes with the newly-arrived Bird scooters, and, about a year from now, a crop of electric bikes—also courtesy of Motivate.
Summers hopes the chaos will ultimately be worth it, though. With the influx of wheels to ride and a decreased need for expensive, cumbersome docking stations, Nice Ride will be able to reach more neighborhoods—specifically, some underserved Northeast and North Minneapolis suburbs. Nice Ride’s non-profit will also remain in tact, and all those currently employed get to stay that way, now with a Motivate logo on their polos.
“It’s a way to get people who aren’t used to biking on a bike,” Summers says. “People who don’t own a bike or who don’t normally ride one have the opportunity to get on a bike and check out the city, ride on the greenway, or go around the lakes. When they’re in the car next, they feel more kinship toward bikers and they understand a little bit better about how to interact with a biker when you’re driving a car.”
Ready to Roll
But first, the rules of the road: Nice Rides are intended for shorter trips, so don’t go taking off to a Wisconsin brewery on us. You can take a bike out for a maximum of 24 hours. After that, Nice Ride assumes you lost it in a bet at said brewery, and charges your credit card for a replacement fee. Single rides cost $2 per half hour from the time you take it off the dock, which is a good option for a quick ride around the lake. Otherwise, a 24-hour hold with unlimited 30-minute rides is $6, with each ride longer than 30 minutes costing you $2 extra. There are also 30-day and one-year membership options, but if you’re looking to keep it in first gear, we’ve got a few ideas for where to start:
15 miles
Take a smooth ride along the Mississippi, starting at Nice Ride’s outermost dock in North Mississippi Regional Park, and finishing in the heart of Fort Snelling State Park. The trek cuts right through the middle of downtown Minneapolis, so food/drink stops are not out of reach nor frowned upon. Start: bike station 30146. Finish: bike station 30159. Total trip time: 1 hour, 16 minutes, 14.3 miles
10 miles
Send the day hanging with lions and tigers and bears at the Como Park Zoo, then grab a bike at the dock next to the Cafesjian's Carousel parking lot along Estabrook Dr., and power pedal across the river and through South Minneapolis to catch an evening concert at Lake Harriet Bandshell Park. Start: bike station 30102. Finish: bike station 30157. Total trip time: 1 hour, 2 minutes, 11.1 miles
5 miles
Check out the new, improved, and moved Bell Museum, then hoof it a few blocks down Cleveland Ave. N. to the docking station outside the U of M St. Paul’s Student Center. Hop aboard and ride through St. Anthony park toward Nicollet Island for a bite along the river—your ending dock is near Bardo, Punch Pizza, and Ginger Hop. Start: bike station 30113. Finish: bike station 30000. Total trip time: 22 minutes, 4.1 miles
1 mile
The farmers’ market-then-brunch combo is what summer Saturday mornings are made for, right? Stock up on produce for the week at the Minneapolis Farmers Market, then hop a Nice Ride to Hennepin Ave. for late morning noms at Eli’s, Butcher & The Boar, or Mercy. Start: bike station 30062. Finish: bike station 30004. Total trip time: 6 minutes, 0.8 miles
Sign up for our Be Well newsletter to get the latest health and wellness coverage.
