Downtown Minneapolis by Bike Rental

The Minneapolis downtown is home to the Nice Ride Bicycle Program. Initiated by non-profit dollars, the Nice Ride Program consists of rental bicycles that can be rented in 24-hour blocks. Bicycles are available throughout the Downtown and Uptown areas and can be rented with a credit card, at an available kiosk. There are over 60 kiosks throughout Minneapolis downtown, riverfront, University of Minnesota campus, and near Lake Street just south of downtown Minneapolis. The best way to access these kiosks is by going to niceridemn.org and attaining information on the whereabouts of the nearest kiosk. After locating the kiosk, make sure to use a credit card. Your credit card will be charged accordingly to the number of 24-hour blocks you request. You will also be charged a deposit fee of $250.00 per bicycle. The fee will be refunded within three days after your subscription ends. When approaching a kiosk you will see multiple bicycles available, and on the end a terminal is where you will slide your credit card. After sliding your card you will choose the number of bicycles, and length of rental. You may rent up to two bicycles. A 24-hour period has a subscription fee of $5.00. Nice Ride MN. then charges by the half-hour block, the first 30-minutes is free. the next half hour (31-60 min) is $1.50. After 90-minutes you will start paying an increasing amount up to $6.00 per half hour. This may seem extreme, however it assures that there are plenty of bikes available for others to use. Once you have attained a rental receipt, you will get a 5-digit code in order to access a bike. The code will then be inputed on the left side of bike stand near the front wheel. You will have exactly 30 minutes from the time you are given the access code to return the bike and not be charged the user fee. Essentially you may return and check out a bike as many times as you want in the 24-hour period without being charged the user fee. This is a great feature of the rental program. It gives you the chance to see the downtown and surrounding areas without the expense of taxi's.