 |
| Nice Ride plans to give away thousands of branded license plate frames at Open Streets in Minneapolis this year. |
The Nice Ride Minnesota bike-share program will begin its fifth season with a focus on outreach to full-time, devoted car drivers. As Richard Bobby, Nice Ride’s Director of Driver Outreach, explained, “We need to communicate that we understand the plight of the driver, and we think these new ideas can accomplish that.” These ideas range from promotional freebies to more serious efforts aimed at making drivers comfortable with the idea of biking as a daily transportation routine.
Beginning this season, the portion of Nice Ride’s budget previously devoted to green helmet giveaways at events like Open Streets, will instead be spent on items like license plate frames and antenna toppers (to help avid drivers find their cars in the boundless expanse of suburban parking lots).
Mr. Bobby believes the branded swag will serve as outreach beyond just the drivers who receive it. “If one driver on the highway sees another driver with a branded Nice Ride license plate frame or antenna topper, we want all the other drivers to think to themselves, ‘Maybe Nice Ride users aren’t the far-out, tattooed, body-pierced, bearded freak-shows we thought; maybe riding a bike isn’t so bad; maybe I could do that!'”
