With snow (hopefully) behind us until fall, the bikes and scooters of Cedar Rapids’ bike share program are available again. This is the fourth year for what the city calls its “micromobility program.”
The city launched the bike-share program in May 2019 and began a pilot scooter program a few months after that. Cedar Rapids was the first city in Iowa to introduce electric scooters as part of a bike share program. The program proved popular in its first season, with more than 30,000 rides completed on the bikes and scooters.
Bikes and scooters are still rented through the free Veo app, which people can download onto their smartphones, but there will be a few changes to the program this year. In a news release, the city listed three changes effecting how the bikes and scooters will be used.
• ID verification technology will be required for all riders. The requirement for riders to be at least 18 years of age to ride remains.
• Riders will need to take a safety quiz at the beginning of each season.
• Devices will not be allowed to drive into “special event” areas defined by the City’s special events team.
Veo, the vendor that runs the program for the city, also said that this year it will cut the amount the time abandoned bikes and scooters can be left outside their designated areas before its employees collect them from 72 hours to 48 hours.
Anyone wishing to use one of the bikes or scooters — the program has both stand-up and seated scooters — can find them in five designated areas: downtown, New Bohemia, Czech Village, Kingston Village and the MedQuarter. Bikes are $1 to unlock and 15 cents per minute of use. Stand-up scooters are $1 to unlock and 30 cents per minute of use, while seated scooters cost $1 to unlock and 35 cents per minute of use.
Through Saturday, April 9, anyone renting a bike or scooter can enter the promo code CRspring22 for a $5 credit.
