As spring returns, so does Great Rides Bike Share.
The popular transportation service activates Sunday following docking station installations at North Dakota State and in downtown Fargo. The system returns five days earlier this season due to pleasant weather, said Sara Watson Curry, Great Rides operations director.
Bike Share’s first season was hugely successful, racking up about 8,000 students enrolled in the system and over 143,000 rides.
Spring’s awakening
Bike Share became available March 15, 2015, allowing students to take unlimited, 30-minute trips around the area. The bikes went into winter hibernation Nov. 1 for tune-ups and maintenance, including new baskets, the most noticeable new feature.
“We just had a lot of issues with the larger basket” like its weight, Watson Curry said.
Bike Share’s 11 stations return, with the first two installed outside the Memorial Union and the high rise residence halls over spring break.
These two stations were the busiest of the 11 and “probably in the nation,” Watson Curry added.
Due to Aquatic Center construction, one docking station has been relocated closer to the Mathew Living Learning Center.
“Every now and then, we might have to slightly modify where we place (stations), but otherwise, everything should look the same,” Watson Curry said.
One hundred Bison green B-cycles return too – all but one of the cycling herd.
“We have one missing lamb,” Watson Curry said. “It went missing in August and it hasn’t come home yet. … I’m still holding out hope.”
At the end of the last season, over 8,000 students had enrolled their card in the Bike Share system, while about 6,400 had taken one or more trips, Watson Curry said.
Bike Share stats last fall showed the average B-cycle checked out an average of 20 times per day.
Rolling on
In its second season now, Great Rides generally follows Daylight Saving Time with Bike Share, Watson Curry said.
Bike Share’s docking stations are solar powered and provide a winter challenge; hence, the hibernation. However, graduate student Ali Rahim Taleqani researched the feasibility of bike sharing in a Fargo winter, presenting his results at February’s Winter Cycling Conference in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.
“It’s something we’ve discussed but something we’re not ready to pursue at this time,” Watson Curry said of winter bike sharing.
She added that Minneapolis is a good mirror for Fargo’s Bike Share, as the neighbor state’s system is also seasonal.
Looking ahead, Great Rides is looking to grow Bike Share in the future, as early as 2017, Watson Curry said, contingent on funding and locations.
Expanding stations on campus and downtown as well as reaching across the river to Moorhead are potential plans for next season.
A committee is looking at growing in Moorhead with staff and student representation from Minnesota State University Moorhead and Concordia College, Watson Curry said, as well as business leaders and city planners.
For this season, Watson Curry encourages students to ride to all 11 docking stations in April.
“They can come downtown, they can do to and from the campuses, so I encourage them to go exploring through the month of April, check out those stations,” she said.