Our story
Nice Ride Minnesota is a new non-profit created to bring public bike sharing to the Twin Cities.
Mission
To enhance the quality of our urban life by providing a convenient, easy-to-use bike sharing program that will provide residents and visitors a healthy, fun, different way to get around town.
Vision
We see a bike sharing program that will permanently change the way people experience and perceive our city, as well as the way they experience and perceive transportation.
Nice Ride will create a more vibrant city, a place where people want to work, live and play.
Nice Ride will stand as a working example of how our state and cities create programs that meet critical and shared public goals.
Nice Ride will show that the benefits of alternative transportation are many and lasting. For our residents those benefits will include:
- Avoiding vehicular congestion
- Reducing our carbon footprint
- Less dependence on fossil fuels
- More efficient movement from place to place
- More opportunities for healthy physical activity
- More interesting personal experiences interacting with the city
- A growing affinity to make other changes in all modes of transportation
- A sense of civic pride
History
Nice Ride Minnesota was formed through the Twin Cities Bike Share Project, an initiative started by Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and the City of Lakes Nordic Ski Foundation in July 2008. After meeting with stakeholder groups and evaluating bike share systems, the Project prepared a non-profit business plan and sought public and private funding. Bike/Walk Twin Cities (a program of Transit for Livable Communities funded through the Federal Highway Administration) announced its financial support in March of 2009, responding to a major funding commitment by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Center for Prevention (funded through the historic tobacco litigation settlement). We held our first board of directors meeting in April of 2009. Three months later, the board approved the Phase 1 Public Bike Kiosk Location Recommendations report prepared by Alta Planning, bike and pedestrian planning specialists. In early 2010, we selected Public Bike System Co. (developers of the Montreal Bixi bike share system) to supply our bike share equipment and formed relationships with two local businesses, Freewheel Bike Shop and Sieco Construction, to help us assemble and install the bike share equipment.
The creation of Nice Ride Minnesota is a remarkable story of cooperation by local professionals-all donating their time—to create something great for Minneapolis. Each of these firms donated hundreds of hours of staff time to make Nice Ride Minnesota a reality: Dorsey & Whitney (legal), Duffy & Partners (design), Mono (marketing), Grant Thornton (accounting), Roepke (P.R.), and Clockwork Active Media Systems (web development).
Future
Our number one priority in 2010 is to provide superior service to our subscribers in the Phase 1 bike share service area and provide a bike share system that is safe, reliable, and easy to use.
In the future, we expect to grow the bike share system in two ways. First, we are always looking for neighborhood and business partners to support expansion into nearby areas, adding a few kiosks at a time. Second, in a few years, we envision a major expansion—more than doubling the number of kiosks—to reach St. Paul and other urban centers throughout the Twin Cities.
Our future also holds other programs aimed to make riding in the Twin Cities easier and safer. In 2010, we will be partnering with neighborhood festivals and events to create bike corrals for everybody.
To learn more about our plans and learn how you can help, GET INVOLVED.
Community
Nice Ride Minnesota is part of a growing community of people and organizations working for active lifestyles, vibrant cities, and livable public spaces. We will help build that community by making it easy for everyone to ride a bike downtown and to feel safe and welcome on a bike. We are reaching out to students, office workers, and downtown residents. We are partnering with large and small businesses, local government, transit providers, and universities. Become part of the Nice Ride community, share your favorite places to ride, and learn about bike-friendly initiatives and events.
Board of Directors
Paul Adelmann, Manager, Community & Local Gov't Relations, Xcel Energy
Lynnea Atlas-Ingebretson, Program Manager, City of Minneapolis, Bicycle Ambassadors
Lisa Austin, Planner, MnDOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Program
Mark Bixby, Director, UofM/North Memorial Family Medicine Residency Program
Lars Christiansen, Associate Professor, Sociology and Urban Studies, Augsburg College
Joseph Duffy, Designer, Duffy & Partners
Andrew Finsness, General Manager, Sheraton Midtown
Mike Gibbs, Marketing Director, Bite Tech Inc.
Tim Jensen, Building Supervisor, Downtown YWCA
Marc Manley, Vice President & Chief Prevention Officer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota
Matt Moore, General Counsel, Quality Bicycle Products, Inc.
Perry Wilson, Partner, Dorsey & Whitney LLP
R.T. Rybak, Mayor, City of Minneapolis
Steve Sanders, Bicycle Coordinator, University of Minnesota
Ed Surko, Vice President, Commercial Deposit & Payment Solutions Group, U.S. Bank
Dan Sutton, Roundpeg Consulting
Todd Taggart, Partner, Grant Thornton LLP
Jim Van Iwaarden, Owner, Van Iwaarden Associates
Staff
Bill Dossett, Executive Director
Mitch Vars, I.T. Director
Dan Breva, Operations Director
Anne Haddad, Development Consultant
Jake Quarstad, Outreach Manager
