tjspiel

It's a bit cheaper here but the plans are similar. I think it's $65 for an annual membership and $6 or $7 for the day. I don't remember what a monthly membership costs. You do only get the bike for 30 minutes and not 45. Sometimes 30 minutes is a little short. I remember riding to the lakes from downtown and stopping to answer a phone call from my wife. Being a good husband and talking to my wife for 10 minutes cost me $3.00 in overtime charges (or whatever they are).

That particular ride illustrates a problem with the system. "The lakes" refers to a part of the city that has 3 lakes in very close proximity. The whole area is basically a big park with places to rent paddle boats, kayaks, paddle boards, and... bikes.

I'm sure that the existing bike rental places would have raised a huge stink had the city put a few bike stations along the MUPs that surround each of the lakes but it's an obvious place to put them. The closest station to the pavilion at Lake Calhoun is several blocks away. Not exactly convenient when you're riding all the way from downtown and looking for a station where you can drop off the bike. It's a beautiful ride and very doable in the 30 minutes if you know where you're going and your wife doesn't call.

That reminds me. Any of you trying out the system should download an app called "SpotCycle". I'm sure NY's system will be on it. It will show you a map of the stations, where the closest ones are and the number of bikes/empty slots available at whatever station you want to go to. Knowing where the stations are is indispensable.