St. Paul added dockless bikes to its fast-growing array of transportation options Tuesday.
Lime, formerly known as LimeBike, is providing bicycles for rent around the city. Riders can pick up and drop off the bikes anywhere, with the use of a smartphone app.
On Tuesday afternoon, bright green-and-yellow bikes could be seen parked in downtown St. Paul, steps away from the electric scooters that landed in the city for the first time this summer.
According to Lisa Hiebert, a spokeswoman for the Department of Public Works, Lime dropped 200 bikes on Tuesday and will add 600 more by Thursday.
"St. Paul residents, visitors and employees will now have two more great options for moving around our community," Council President Amy Brendmoen said in a statement Tuesday. "These new, shared, dockless bikes and scooters will make our city more connected, healthy and fun."
Dockless bikes are appearing throughout the Twin Cities. Golden Valley and Edina already have Lime bikes, and Nice Ride is expected to launch its own dockless fleet in Minneapolis by the fall.
Renting a Lime bike costs $1 for every 30 minutes. According to a news release from the public works department, Lime has agreed to work with the city to offer bike rentals to low-income residents at a lower cost.
Lime dropped about 150 scooters in St. Paul a week ago, after agreeing to be part of a city pilot program. Bird, the first company to bring electric scooters to the Twin Cities, is also participating.
