How to Ride a Reddy bike
You’ve probably heard about them, you may have seen them around Buffalo or Niagara Falls, maybe you’ve tried them and are now a member! They’re the Reddy bikes brought to you by a small, nonprofit team of bike lovers and transportation nerds, made possible through the investment of our valued partner and sponsor, Independent Health. Reddy bikes are publicly accessible, shared bikes, that have become increasingly popular as our region embraces biking and all of the amazing life benefits that come with it.
We’re excited to share our experiences, knowledge and passion for biking in a thoughtful and more accessible way. We thought we should do nothing other than guide you thoroughly through the process of a first-time user!
Step 1: Choose your adventure
*A $10.00 pre-fill is required at registration and applied as ride credit to the account
Pay-As-You-Go Pass: Are you a visitor or a spontaneous fun-seeker? Looking to try the bikes out without any commitment? Sign up for the Pay-As-You-Go pass for only $3, and pay an additional 10 cents per minute when you ride, or 25 cents per minute with a Reddy+ Bike. You’ll be charged initially for the pass fee along with a $10 pre-fill, and as you ride, your account will accrue a balance at a rate of 10 cents/min.
Group Plan: If you’re riding with anyone other than yourself, leave it to just one of you to handle the sign up logistics. The cost is $9 to sign up, and up to four people can ride under one account, each with a cost of $0.10 cents per minute for each bike. So in other words, you should budget your date night to include about $36. 2 hours of riding for 2 bikes = $24 + $9 sign up fee = $36. You’ll be charged initially for the pass fee along with a $10 pre-fill, and as you ride, your account will accrue a balance at a rate of 10 cents/min. Like Pay-As-You-Go, Group Plan members pay 25 cents per minute per Reddy+ Bike.
Annual Pass: Great for Western New York locals who want to benefit from affordable access to an additional, healthy mode of transportation and recreation. It’s $40 /year (less than the cost of a bike tune-up) and only 1 penny/minute. That’s only $0.60/hour. Only $1.20 for 2 hours! You get the idea. It’s a solid deal for access to bikes in two cities 24/7, from April - October. Annual Pass Members also receive a discount on Reddy+ rates: 10 center per minute, or $6/hour.
Annual Pass Partnerships: We do so much behind the scenes work in order to make biking more accessible to our communities as a healthy and affordable mode of transportation and recreation to residents of Buffalo and Niagara Falls.
With Independent Health as our presenting sponsor, we receive support from the Office of Mayor Restaino in the City of Niagara Falls to offer a $1.00 annual pass to any resident 18+ in Niagara Falls. We also work with M&T Bank, Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, NFTA, and smaller community organizations like Buffalo United Front, the University District Community Development Association, Grant-Amherst Business Association and the Create a Healthier Niagara Falls Collaborative.
We work together with these organizations because we all have a like-minded mission to deliver better access to healthy mobility options.
Visit reddybikeshare.com for more details on our partner collaborations, including info on how to redeem if you’re a resident of Niagara Falls.
If you are from an organization interested in a similar partnership, send an email to info@reddybikeshare.com to start a discussion.
Step 2: Create Your Account
Click photos to enlarge
Visit Reddybikeshare.com or download the Social Bicycles app for Android or iOS. Click “Become a Member” on desktop or go ahead and register for your account through the app.
Sign-up Process Includes:
Asking for your contact Information - so we can reach you, and also so you can tell us where you’re from, which helps us to measure the impact of our service.
Liability Waiver & Agreement - In a nutshell, we are asking you to agree to take good care of our bikes while in your possession, while also confirming that we will keep your personal information safe.
Auto-Renewal - This is defaulted to be off for the Annual Pass, you can choose to turn it on.
Payment Information - You’ll need to enter a credit, debit or re-loadable cash card.
Promo Code: If you have a promo code, make sure to hit the button that says “APPLY”, otherwise you’ll be charged the full fee and will need to request a refund.
Once you’ve gone through these steps above (takes about 2-5 mins), you’ll receive a unique account number and PIN, and you’ll get a couple of emails from us confirming your active membership and welcoming you to the program!
If you sign up on desktop, you’ll still want to download the app so you can use it to locate bikes and stations, track your trips and manage your memberships. Tracking your mileage and viewing your routes are fun features you can use to progress and challenge yourself. You can always go further you think! (Which is an example of one motivational message you’ll find on the inside of each Reddy basket!)
Now that you’re motivated and Reddy…..
Step 3: Unlock and Ride
How to Unlock a Reddy bike
2022 UPDATE
Throughout the month of April 2022, we rolled out new scan-to-unlock technology on our bikes! Riders who are signed-up to Reddy are able to unlock a Reddy bike in one step by scanning a QR code using the Social Bicycles app and their smartphone.
To unlock a Reddy bike with the upgraded technology, walk up to a Reddy bike and run your fingers across the buttons on the back of the bike to “wake” it up.
Scan the QR code on the back of the bike using the SoBi app
OR tap your member RFID card to the back of the bike to unlock
Locate the U-bar, pull it out with both hands, and place it in the holster
You can also reserve a bike from your app, allowing you 10 minutes to arrive at the bike.
How to Lock a Reddy bike at a Station
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Wheel the Reddy bike next to an available rack
Line up the insertion points as pictured in the second photo above
Insert the U-bar and give it a pull to make sure it’s secure
If there’s no available racks at the station, lock the bike to the nearest public rack or traffic sign. Normally it’s $2.00 to leave a bike “out of hub” but we’ll refund you in this case, just let us know!
How to Lock a Reddy bike at a Public Rack
Click photos to enlarge
One of the amazing features of Reddy bikes, is that the built-in lock makes it easy and convenient to park the bike up wherever you are going, no matter if there’s a Reddy Station or not. There’s just a $2.00 fee to do so. To lock at a public bike rack:
Roll the Reddy bike right up next to the rack, and take the U-bar out of the holster
Locate the insertion points around one side of the rack as pictured in the second photo above
Using both hands to hold the U-bar (it’s kind of heavy) lean your body weight against the bike to keep it steady, and bend from your hips to insert it into the bike. (Bet you didn’t know you were gonna get a little yoga with your ride too, huh?)
Lastly, that $2.00 fee mentioned earlier is not applicable to public racks and street infrastructure in Free Parking Zones, or at any Reddy racks indicated below in yellow.
Now what the heck are you waiting for? If you’ve read this far, just go get on a bike already! But first, please review our safety and locking tips:
