Raleigh’s bikeshare program is back and for a limited time all rides are free

After a seven-week hiatus, Cardinal Bikeshare, Raleigh’s self-service bicycle rental system, resumed operations on Wednesday, June 7, and is offering a little incentive to win back riders.

For the next 60 days, rides on Cardinal Bikeshare will be free.

The city shut down Cardinal Bikeshare in mid April so it could switch contractors. Bewegen Technologies Inc., the company that had maintained and operated the bikeshare system since its inception four years ago, declared bankruptcy in Canada, and the city has brought on Corps Logistics to take over.

Cardinal Bikeshare has about 340 bicycles docked at 32 stations, mostly inside the Beltline. The most popular station is at the N.C. Museum of Art and its park, which is connected to the city’s greenway system.

Normally, riders can opt to pay a couple bucks for a single ride or buy daily, monthly or annual passes. Unlike scooters for rent in the city, the bikes must be returned to one of the docking stations.

Nearly 70% of the bikes are equipped with electric-assist motors that give riders a boost when pedaling. The system was launched in the spring of 2019 as Citrix Cycle and rebranded last spring as Cardinal Bikeshare.

Since the beginning, people have taken more than 160,000 rides using the bicycles, according to the system website.

For information about Cardinal Bikeshare, including a map of stations, go to cardinalbikeshare.com/.