Photo: Nice Ride
This year, prior to COVID-19, Nice Ride Minnesota promised to release 2,000 new electric-assist bikes. Those bikes arrived a few weeks ago, and we got a chance to test ride them.
The new blue-wheeled bikes are on a promotional pricing right now, so all of my rides have been less than a dollar. During the promotional period, Nice Ride members pay $0.05 per minute of use. My recent 2.34-mile, 16-minute ride cost a grand total of $0.86 with tax.
Unlocking the electric bike with a QR code and mobile phone app. (Note the bike is not locked.) Photo: Nice Ride
After the promotion ends on July 27, 2020, Nice Ride members will pay $0.10 per minute. Non-members will pay $2.00 to unlock and $0.15 per minute, and Nice Ride for All (the nonprofit’s equity program) will pay $0.05 per minute with no unlocking fee.
Given this affordable promotional pricing, I have been riding the electric bikes everywhere. It seems that many other Nice Riders are doing the same. Today, July 15, I went to three different parking locations, two docks, and a blue electric bike parking rack and couldn’t find any available electric bikes. I contacted Nice Ride, and their customer support said that even with about 1,000 electric bikes in the system right now, only 141 were shown as available across all of Minneapolis. So either they are very popular, or they are breaking down at high rates.
Promotional pricing ends on July 27, 2020. However, under normal non-member pricing, my 16-minute ride still would have only cost about $4.75 with tax.
Have you tried the electric experience yet? What kind of bike do you normally ride? Share your hot takes and cold servings in the comments below.