Blue Bikes was presented with a Downtown NOLA Award in September by the Downtown Development District to be recognized as the city’s first bike-share program with affordable transportation that provides accessibility to neighborhoods, worksites and other destinations. Blue Bikes is also celebrating the success of its free ride September promotion by lowering prices to 10 cents a minute starting October 1. The City New Orleans Office of Transportation Director, Laura Bryan said, “We hope that the lowered hourly price reflects the needs of the communities Blue Bikes serves”. In September, over 30,00 trips were taken by New Orleanians using Blue Bikes with the #BlueDat promotion. The promotion allowed New Orleans locals to ride for an hour each day for free. For the price change starting Oct. 1, riders already part of a Blue Bikes plan won’t need to do anything to their accounts and will continue to enjoy an hour of ride time as part of their membership. After an hour, it will return to the 10 cent a minute rate. Non- member Riders are also only charged for the time they use, meaning an hour-long bike ride would cost $6. Blue Bikes is a bike share program in partnership with the City of New Orleans, Social Bicycles and title sponsor Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana that offers a fast, convenient, and environment-friendly way to get around the city. Travelers and tourist using Blue Bikes can avoid the hassle of traffic and parking and getting back and forth to the park, grocery store, or any upcoming festival.
Those interested in a Blue Bikes membership can sign-up at bluebikesnola.com or by downloading the Social Bicycles App from the Apple App Store or Google Play. There’s an upfront fee of $5 when new riders sign-up but after that, riders will only be billed 10 cents per minute for their Blue Bikes trips. Riders interested in long-term membership will be happy to know Blue Bikes offers monthly memberships, with discounts for area college and university students, faculty, and staff and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) qualified recipients. Those with Reduced Fare membership can even take advantage of Blue Bikes’ Pay Near Me option to pay in cash at locations such as 7 Elevens, Family Dollar stores, and CVS pharmacies. Riders can also follow Blue Bikes on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
