Acton Says Bye-Bye To Bikes Until Spring

ACTON, MA — It's last call for bike rides on Acton's Minuteman bikes. The town is pulling them from the line and storing them for the winter, starting Friday. The bikes will be back out for use in the spring.

The Minuteman bikes are part of multi-town system set up by Zagster, a bike sharing company. Zagster launched the bikes in Acton, Maynard, Concord, Bedford and Lexington in October 2018. Acton is still in the middle of it's two year bike share pilot program and assessing if it fits the community's needs.

Bike docking stations are in two locations in Acton: At the South Acton Commuter rail station and in West Acton Village. The location at the rail station was especially important and marketed as a simple solution for commuters to make their "last mile" between the train and home.

To use a Minuteman bike there are hourly and monthly membership options. As part of the pilot, Zagar agreed to offer the first two hours free to riders. After the first two hours the bikes cost $1 an hour and up to $12 a ride. Unlike the dockless e-scooters in Brookline and Washington D.C., the Minuteman bikes have to be returned to a docking station. If they're kept for over 24 hours, riders are hit with an extra $30 fee.

While the docking stations will be empty through the winter (who wants to bike in the snow anyway) riders can expect the Minuteman bikes to be back on the streets by April 1.