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People who are extremely stoked on Spin, one of two bike-share programs currently operating in Seattle, have an alternative to paying as they go: The company has launched a monthly payment program they’re calling Spin Unlimited.
For $29 a month, a user can get unlimited 30-minute rides, as opposed to the pay-as-you-go method, which costs $1 for a 30-minute ride.
LimeBike, the other bike-share company currently operating in the city, is working on a similar program at a similar price point, a spokesperson tells Curbed Seattle.
Essentially, you’ll be getting your money’s worth if you ride a Spin bike every single day of every single month—or twice a day for half a month. That seems like a user that would ride their own bike.
We asked co-founder Derrick Ko about how they arrived at the price point. “We want provide an affordable plan for our riders, and generally encourage more biking around Seattle,” said Ko. He said it’s “under a dollar a day even if you just take a daily 30 minute ride.”
Are enough people riding shared bikes every day to justify that? In their first week, the average rider took 2.7 trips—or less than half a daily ride for a week—although their top user did take 20 rides.
LimeBike has been rolling out their service more slowly, but still saw heavy activity on the bikes they did have on the street. The 360 bikes they had out on Wednesday were ridden more than 1,000 times.
It’s also, in a way, a little more expensive than Pronto, despite being dramatically cheaper in all other respects. Seattle’s original bike-share program cost $85 for an annual membership with unlimited 30-minute rides, which broke down to around $7 per month.
Still, the monthly cost at least allows memberships to function on a month-to-month basis.
One way to see if it’s worth it to you: Both bike shares are doing self-guided tours this weekend based on short trips to Seattle landmarks.