St. Paul Unveils Dockless Bikes For Rent
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- There's a new way to roll around the Capital City.
Hundreds of bikes for rent just arrived in St. Paul, joining a fleet of scooters that hit the streets earlier this month. All of them are dockless.
WCCO's Angela Davis talked with city leaders about the pros and cons. You don't have to go far before you see these bright green and yellow bikes in downtown St. Paul.
They're slightly different from Nice Ride bikes. You can drop them off anywhere in the city.
"These bikes are more convenient, they're less expensive for one thing, but more convenient because you don't need to bring them back to a docking station," St. Paul City Council President Amy Brendmoen said.
The company Lime delivered 200 bikes Tuesday, and another 600 are on the way.
A couple of weeks ago, they got the go-ahead to operate electric scooters on city streets too.
"In my opinion it's great. I had fun riding it. I think they'll stay," Alena Jasinski of St. Paul said.
You have to download the Lime app to your Smartphone if you want to ride. It will show you where the bikes and scooters are located. You then scan a bar code to unlock it. It costs $1 for each 30 minutes.
Other cities with dockless bikes and scooters have seen some bumps in the road. They've found them tossed in places they shouldn't be.
Lime is prepared for that.
"They said that typically when they move into a city, there will be a certain level of vandalism that is expected. They know that bikes will end up in a pile. They know that some bikes will end up in trees but over time, that type of activity wears out its welcome," Brendmoen said.
Folks seem to be interested in these new options.
"I think it's like that last mile, you get to a location and then you still have a little bit more to go so you can get on a scooter or a bike, drop it off at your house. I think it's great," Sharon Demark of St. Paul said.
City leaders say they're optimistic the bikes will make getting around St. Paul more convenient. And they also believe it will make the city more fun to visit.
