Small fleets of green bikes took to the streets of Fargo during yesterday’s warm afternoon, marking the official launch of the new Fargo Great Rides Bike Share.
“We decided that it’s pretty much impossible to be unhappy while riding these bikes,” said Cam Knutson, President of the Bike Share board, as he gave the bike’s bell a cheery ring on the way to the MATBUS station
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1QfE6s4yCY&feature=youtu.be
Fargo Great Rides Bike Share: where and how
In addition to the bells, the Great Ride Bike Share bikes feature pedal-powered lights, a lock and key, and a big basket – big enough for picking up your gallon of milk, as Director of Operations Sara Watson Curry said.
They also feature a GPS system that allows members to track how many trips they’ve taken, an estimation of miles ridden, calories burned, and CO2 offset. The program also provides the free downloadable app B-Cycle, which shows users proximity of stations and how many bikes are available.
Great Ride Bikes can now be found and checked out from 11 different stations – stretching from a northernmost point at University village across from the Fargodome, to the southernmost point at YMCA on 1st Avenue. Stations at places like Sanford Medical Center and the U.S. Bank Plaza center are scattered in between.
If the bike share is popular – which it is anticipated to be – they may continue to expand, according to Amy Nash, Public Relations for NDSU student government.
“Eventually, we’ll more than likely grow south into Lindenwood Park and connect with all those trails,” she said.
The bike share station at Great Northern Bicycle Co.
From 2 – 4 PM on Sunday March 15, the founding members of Fargo Great Rides Bike Share were at Great Northern Bicycle Co. giving demonstrations on how to use the bikes and answering questions as interesting passersby stopped to check it out.
Thon Chol was one of those interested, and joined for one of the tours. Chol, who is originally from Sudan and moved to Fargo in 2010, said he thinks the bike share will be very useful for him, and for the city as a whole. He saw special value in the fact that there is a bike share station at the MATBUS center, so one can connect to the two methods of public transit.
“This is going to be good,” he said. “It shows how Fargo is really changing.”
- Thon shows off one of the Fargo Great Rides Bike Share bikes.
Bike Share programs are eco-friendly
Not only does the bike share provide another means of public transportation, but also one that is very eco-friendly:
1) Bikes are by far a much “greener” option than driving. According to research done by an MIT grad, an ordinary sedan’s carbon footprint is more than 10 times greater than a conventional bicycle on a mile-for-mile basis.
2) Nine of the eleven stations in Fargo are equipped with a solar panel that fuels the system.
Knutson and Watson Curry are at the helm of the program, and have been working to bring a bike share system to Fargo since 2011. They worked with a team of other NDSU students at the time, as well as City Commissioner Mike Williams. The University and the City of Fargo are both helping to fund the project’s launch.
The partnership also means that all current NDSU students – all 14,700 of them – have full access to the bikes, making this Great Rides Bike Share the second largest bike share in the U.S. (Don’t worry Dragons and Cobbers out there, Knutson said they’d love to look at student discounts for you too.)
Fargo Great Rides Bike Share Pricing
Jon Walters gets his bike on.
As far as pricing goes: Day passes begin at $6. The first half-hour is free, with a $1 fee for the next half-hour and $2 fee for the following half-hours. However, as Knutson recommended, after every free half-hour you can dock your bike at a station and the clock will reset, allowing you to continue riding without any extra fees.
Memberships are also available for $75 annually or $15 monthly. This gives you access to the bikes from 6 AM to midnight, and from the months of March to mid-November (when the bikes go into hibernation for the winter).
Memberships also get you access to other Great Rides Bike Share systems, in places like Austin and Houston, Texas; Denver and Boulder, Colorado; and Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, among others.
For many, including Watson Curry and Knutson, having a bike share in Fargo ties the community together, because of the inherent communal quality of biking.
“Biking is important everywhere but specifically downtown, and here in Fargo-Moorhead, because it let’s people experience the town with all five senses,” said Knutson.
In short: expect a lot more chiming bike bells on the streets this summer!
Be sure to check out a bike share station near you, now open and fully-functioning! And don’t miss Cam and Sara of Fargo Great Rides Bike Share at this week’s 1 Million Cups, 9:15 am at The Stage at Island Park.
Check out these other great articles in High Plains Reader and Fargo Monthly.
