The iconic green Nice Ride bikes will not return to University of Minnesota campus streets this year. Students, staff and visitors will still have plenty of bike share choices. Other providers will fill in the gaps.
For spring semester 2023, three shared electric bike and scooter programs are approved on campus - Veo, Lime and Spin (no bikes). Each vendor will also have a discounted program for student and staff riders.
The University of Minnesota was part of the founding group that launched Nice Ride in 2009 and has been a key segment of Nice Ride's network. The University will lose 22 on-campus docking stations that held up to 400+ bikes.
Looking ahead, the U will have the same number of bikes -- about 400. Starting this year, all of them will be e-bikes. Docking stations will be a thing of the past, but users are asked to leave the bikes in normal bike racks when finished with their rides.
Encouraging shared bikes and scooters has a serious purpose. It’s part of the U’s goal to be carbon neutral by 2050. Cars generate a lot of carbon and encouraging students, staff and visitors to use bikes and transit is a big part of their carbon reduction plan. In 2022, the U had around 90,000 bike trips in and around campus on shared bikes.