Green Newton

You may have already seen the bright green Lime bikes around Newton. The bike share program has unofficially arrived. Grab your helmet and take a spin.

The city OK’d the contract with Lime, and it is just waiting for signatures before everything becomes 100% official. The bike program will officially launch in a couple weeks when more Lime bikes will arrive here.

In the meantime, Lime bikes from our partner town Watertown have started appearing in Newton, so go ahead and use them.

It’s really easy. Download the free Lime app from the app store on your smartphone and add a few dollars for your first ride – it’s $1 per half hour, or $29 a month for unlimited use.

Then hit the Ride icon on your phone, find where a bike is located, follow the simple directions to unlock the bike, and off you go. Remember to bring your own helmet.

Mayor Fuller took a ride last week – check out the video.

Newton joined a partnership with 15 other cities and towns in Metro Boston to begin the state-of-the-art dock-less bike share program that allows riders to pick-up and drop-off bikes anywhere in the city where they can legally be parked. Bikes can also be picked-up and dropped-off in the other participating communities, including Watertown, Needham and Waltham.

A second bikeshare company, Spin, will be adding bikes here in Newton in August. Both companies will offer discounts to students, corporations, and low-income riders.

Ride your bike safely and follow some simple rules. At the end of your ride, leave bikes only:

• On the sidewalk next to the curb, leaving a clear path for pedestrians
• At or near a bike rack
• Next to benches, sign posts, newspaper boxes, trash cans, or trees

And please don’t leave bikes on the ground or on grass, or blocking sidewalks, crosswalks, fire hydrants, driveways or loading zones.

The city is trying to make Newton as bike friendly and safe as possible. Look for more bike lanes in the months ahead.

See a Lime bike in the wrong place? Call customer service at 617-796-2100.

More information and answers to frequently asked questions are on the website.

This post is courtesy of City of Newton.