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Both Spin and LimeBike have had the green light to operate in Seattle for a week. On Spin, who launched their 500 bikes right away, the first week yielded 5,000 rides.
Next month, they’ll be able to expand to 1,000 bikes on the road. And to boost ridership in the meantime, both companies are putting on ride events with giveaways.
LimeBikes have been a little elusive during the pilot so far—they just had their official launch this morning. If you haven’t gotten to try one yet, Lime Ride in Fremont this Saturday, July 29 is a great chance.
They’re working with local businesses to have bikes ready to roll. Riders will be given passports, and each stop at a business (or landmark, in one case) will earn a stamp.
The first 100 riders to get a stamp at all six locations get a prize (we’re told it’s a jersey). Completed passports also enter riders into a drawing to win either unlimited rides for a year or 100 free rides. Social posts with the hashtag #limebike earn 10 free rides each.
The ride starts at Gas Works Park as early as noon, then moves on to Bluebird Ice Cream, which has a special, Keylime Piecycle, all day. Riders that then make it up the slope to the Troll from there win free rides for 30 days.
From there, riders can cruise down to Theo Chocolate for free samples, MiiR Flagship for lime-flavored tea, and then to Fremont Brewery for a Lime Gose beer.
Theoretically, riders can do those stops in any order; they’ll start the event with 10 to 15 bikes at each location.
Spin’s similar event, which they’re calling a scavenger hunt, is significantly more hands-off—and totally based on social media.
Any time on Saturday and Sunday, riders can take selfies with the bikes at various landmarks and post them on Twitter or Instagram using #spinhunt. If they follow and DM Spin, they’ll get a dollar in ride credit for every post, and five posts will enter them to win a $500 Amazon gift card or a pair of Sounders tickets.
The list of Spin locations is much more plentiful, but includes the Space Needle, the Gum Wall, and Safeco Field. While the destinations are mostly concentrated around Downtown, there’s some overlap with LimeBike’s Fremont event: Gas Works Park and the Fremont Troll.
Because Spin’s self-guided event spans two days, it’s possible to do both and figure out which bike you like best. More information about LimeBike’s event is on Facebook; Spin has a minisite about theirs.
- Spin is the first dockless bike-share program to launch in Seattle [CS]
- LimeBike bike share rolls out in Seattle [LimeBike]
- Week One in Seattle [Spin]
- City of Seattle rolls out rules for private bike shares [CS]
- Seattle’s dockless bike shares: a guide to the bikes taking over the city [CS]
- LimeRide Seattle [LimeBike]
- Selfie Scavenger Hunt [Spin]