Minneapolis Bike Share - maybe I was wrong...
 

I've been very skeptical that this would work and I guess I still am but I've been pleasantly surprised to find quite a few people tooling around on these things today. It's not even that nice of day.

I was going to try one out but the kiosk (solar powered) said that they won't take debit cards so I was out of luck. You can get a 24 hour subscription for $5.00 + $250 security deposit which lets you use any number bikes any number of times in that 24 hour period.

They actively discourage long trips with "trip charges". If you bring the bike to another kiosk (or back to the same one) within 30 minutes, there are no trip charges. You can take the bike right back out of the kiosk again and go for another 30 minutes without trip charges. My guess is that this is to limit the possibility of theft. The kiosks are all over the place and they'd rather have you park it in a kiosk to go have dinner or shop than leave it someplace else.

The bikes themselves have lights, nexus 3 speeds, and a small front rack for cargo. The only adjustment is seat height.

The also have monthly and yearly subscriptions. You get a little fob or something with those to speed checkout. A year's subscription is $60. I'm not sure what it costs per month. The bike shop that my group ride is operated out of assembled over 700 of these. Supposedly there's a thousand.

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f.../nicerides.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...um/shifter.jpg

$60 a year is really not bad for a set of bikes that you never need to maintain or upgrade. Of course, it is only valuable to you if you live near a set and/or have a set near your workplace. I think they look adorable with their full chain and skirt guards.

I've never been to Minneapolis, is it a good place for getting around by bike?

That's what somebody else had said that I hadn't really thought of. A lot of us in the forums do our own maintenance but for those folks that don't and have limited space to keep a bike, this might make them attractive. $60 a year isn't much more than what a tune up will cost you.

Hopefully they won't get vandalized and weathered to the point where they lose their cuteness. ;)

It's pretty good for a U.S. city, but that isn't saying all that much. The kiosks are supposed to have maps on them but the one next to our building doesn't yet.

I'd be concerned about relying on the bike, then coming outside to find all the racks bikeless. It would be cool for people who are only visiting for a few days. Do you have any idea how much the "trip charges" are?

0-30 min: No fee
31-60 min: $1.50
61-90 min: + $3.00
Each Additional 30 min: + $6.00

So if I'm reading that right, they really nail you for keeping it awhile. If you have it for 2 hours that would be a $5 subscription fee plus $10.50 in trip charges. 3 hours would be $5.00 + $22.50.

On the other hand you can ride all day for only $5.00 as long as you bring it to a kiosk every 30 minutes.

More information here.

That is something I was thinking about. Also, what do you do if you arrive at your destination and find that there are no empty racks? It could be rather irritating to have to ride somewhere further away to avoid paying long use fees.