After three years of talks and planning, officials in Fargo are getting ready to launch the Great Rides Bike Share program. Tom Smith is owner of Great Northern Bicycle Company – which will help administer the program. He says the bike share plan is a good match when you look at the strong components behind the idea…
"I have to admit I was pretty skeptical at first. I have had an opportunity to use bike share systems in other countries, and they're all in big cities --very high density of population. But when I heard this plan, utilizing the high density of the NDSU student body and the high densitythat we have downtown, I realized that this is certainly a workable system here in Fargo. And I knew that I wanted to be part of it."
Under the plan, bike docking stations will be set up in areas around the city, a person can then “rent” a bicycle and return it to the bike dock, or a dock at another location. Smith says given the potential demand by NDSU students, the initial demand will likely be more for commuting purposes than recreational…
"Certainly in the downtown area we will expect to see a lot of tourists who might come into town and just want to see the downtown area. We're improving the river corridor, so there is opportunity to do that as well. But primarilly it's a commuting tool.”
The bicycles will be tracked by GPS, allowing the user to see how much they have ridden and what the health benefits could be. It also gives organizers data on where the bikes are most in demand and how bike-routes can be strengthened. The first of the bike docking stations are expected to be set up later this summer.