Bike sharing in the Twin Cities is under new ownership with a bright-pink color scheme.
Lyft, the ride-hailing giant, bought the company that runs the popular on-demand bicycle rental program Nice Ride in a deal that closed Thursday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Lyft's acquisition of Motivate, which also runs several other large bike-sharing programs across the country, makes it the largest bike rental company in the United States.
The deal will allow users to rent the bikes in the Twin Cities and places such as New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Portland, Ore., and Columbus, Ohio, by using the Lyft app starting in 2019.
By then, some docked and dockless bikes may sport a different hue.
Lyft on Thursday said it will launch its own brand of bicycles with pink wheels, the company's signature color. It was not clear when the Lyft-branded bikes would come to the Twin Cities.
"While we can't confirm exact timing for launch; we are excited to roll out the Lyft-branded bikes in the near future," said Chapin Hansen, Lyft's Twin Cities market manager.
Lyft had announced last summer that it had plans to buy Motivate, which took over operations of Nice Ride in July.
