The Nice Ride Minnesota bicycle-rental program is expanding in Minneapols and into parts of St. Paul this summer.
The Pioneer Press reports that expansion of the network of solar-powered docking stations — where bikes can be rented and returned — will include strategic St. Paul locations, including the St. Paul campuses of the University of St. Thomas, Macalester College and Hamline and Concordia universities.
Expansion to downtown St. Paul isn’t scheduled until at least 2012.
To rent the green bikes, users get a subscription that can range from one-day ($5) to one-year ($40). Then there’s a trip fee:
- 0-30 min. No fee
- Up to 60 min. $1.50
- Up to 90 min. $4.50
- Each additional half hour +$6.00
With this summer’s $2 million expansion — in St. Paul and more sites in Minneapolis — the program will now have 113 stations in the two cities, the paper said.
“We are finding more and more that there are easy ways to be economical, environmentally friendly and healthy,” said St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman. “Nice Ride is another way St. Paul and Minneapolis are connecting, allowing our residents to save money, reduce congestion and enjoy everything our cities have to offer.”
The $2 million Twin Cities expansion was paid for by the Federal Highway Administration through Bike Walk Twin Cities, a program of Transit for Livable Communities; Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Center for Prevention, which used money from tobacco litigation settlement funds; the Central Corridor Funders Collaborative; and the Macalester College High Winds Funds.
