Back in 20122 St. Paul had a shared bike program. Here are some pictures I took in April of 2012. I used to use the bikes. Minneapolis has a shared bike program as do many cities around the country and around the world. We do have shared electric Lime scooters and Bird scooters too. They are mainly ridden on the sidewalks which is a good thing because 80% of fatal scooter accidents involve cars.
Non-fatal accidents mainly involve wrists and heads, and sometimes the person on the scooter gets hurt too. Electric scooters are a popular way to get from one bar to the next along West 7th street which might help reduce auto accidents caused by people who are under the influence.
There is a lot to be said for old school-type bikes they never need charging, they don’t pollute, and riding a bike is great exercise.
My understanding is that the city of St. Paul isn’t able to enter into a contract with a shared bike program. It is also possible that no shared bike provider wants to bring their bikes to St. Paul.
In 2021 the St. Paul city council passed a resolution allowing the city to enter into a “memorandum of understanding” with Minneapolis to issue a joint request for proposals for vendors who can provide bikes and scooters to both cities. Minneapolis will take the lead on this. If it works maybe Minneapolis can help us with a few other amenities.
In early 2019 the city told MPR (Minnesota Public Radio) that the city of St. Paul remains committed to bike-sharing services, but there haven’t been shared bikes since 2018.
We don’t have outdoor drinking fountains with water anymore either, at least not since 2019. There are a few other things that can be found in most cities that you won’t see in St. Paul and each year the list gets a bit longer.
Dale Near Grand
Nice Ride Bike
