Nice Ride bikes available to rent Monday, health care workers to receive free 30-day membership

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Nice Ride bicycles will be available to rent in Minneapolis starting Monday. 

Under Minnesota’s stay-at-home order, travel, even by bike, is limited to essential purposes, including recreational and critical work, while practicing social distancing. The stay-at-home order is in effect until Friday, April 10, although it may be extended. 

The bike sharing service said it has “aggressively” increased its cleaning protocols amid the coronavirus pandemic. High-contact surfaces on bikes are being disinfected each time they arrive at the warehouse and high-contact services on vans being used to transport the bikes are being disinfected at the start of every shift. Workers are also wearing gloves when handling bikes both in the depot and at docking stations. 

Nice Ride bikes can be unlocked at any docking station using the kiosk, Nice Ride app or member key. The dockless blue bikes you may have seen last year will not be returning this season, but the company said it will be introducing hybrid locking e-bikes later in the season. 

Nice Ride is also offering critical health care workers will receive 30-day members to use the bicycles to get to their jobs on the front lines of the pandemic. Eligible health care workers can sign up through their employer to access unlimited 60-minute trips for 30 days. 

“One of the most impactful things any of us can do right now is to support our healthcare workers,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in a statement. “Our partnership with Nice Ride does exactly that. By giving healthcare workers another low-cost option to get to and from their jobs, we can give them well-deserved flexibility as they continue their heroic work.”

Interested healthcare companies can email herobikes@lyft.com to learn how to receive free memberships for employees.