DecoBike Bike Hire, South Beach, Miami - Rent in One Place, Leave Bike in Another

DecoBike Bike Hire, South Beach

DecoBike is a bike hire company run in partnership with the City of Miami Beach which allows you to rent a bike at one location and leave it at another.

60 Bright Green Bike Stations
Currently there are 60 bright green bike stations, mainly in the South Beach area, with 500 bikes available for rental, but there are plans to extend the network, particularly in other parts of Miami Beach.

Anywhere in South Beach in 15 minutes
You should be able to cycle anywhere in South Beach in 15 minutes or less. All the bikes have baskets for bags or shopping.

Maps Show Locations of Bike Stations
A map at each bike station shows the location of others, and there are details of hire charges and how the system works. The bikes are locked into a rail and are released by using your credit or debit card. When you return a bike you need to lock it securely into the rail again, or a charge will be made against your card for excess time.

Complicated Pricing
The pricing structure is a bit complicated and the website not absolutely clear, and when I phoned the helpline number in the DecoBike website, the person I spoke to was unable to answer my questions.

Monthly and Daily Rental
Here are the DecoBike membership options:

• Monthly $15 (intended mainly for residents, with a minimum of three months)
• Three-day $30
• Daily $14

These charges are for membership only, plus the first 30 minutes of hire, with an extra charge of $4 for every additional 30 minutes. You can avoid paying the extra rental charges by returning a bike to a station, locking it in the rail, and then starting another rental period.

Hourly Rental
Alternatively you can rent a bike without membership for shorter periods, using your credit card:

• Half hour $4
• One hour $5
• Two Hours $10

If you don't return a bike within the time that you've hired it for, again there's an extra an extra charge of $4 for every additional 30 minutes.

Charges for Lost or Damaged Bikes
After 24 hours, or if a bike is lost or damaged, there will a replacement charge of $675 against your card.

In addition to the membership fees, a deposit of $59 will be charged against your card. Although this is refunded when the bike is returned, the refund may not appear in your bank account statement as fast as the charge did, possibly a few days later. To avoid this problem, use a credit card rather than a debit card.

Finding Parking Spaces to Return Bikes
What if there are no free docks to return your bike to? Although 500 bikes are available for rental there is parking for 960.

A DecoBike spokesperson that I managed to contact by phoning Miami Beach City Hall (not through the DecoBike helpline) said that this is only likely to happen at busy periods, particularly weekends, and near the beach, and that they have a team of people working to relocate bikes when necessary.

Online Map Shows Parking Spots Free
On the DecoBike website there is a map showing its 60 stations, in operation 24 hours, with the number of bikes available for rental at each station and the parking spots free. Apps for iPhone and Blackberry can be downloaded.

Check for Parking North of 20th Street
Although there are plans to increase number of stations to 100, currently it would be wise not to stray too far north of 20th Street without checking that parking spots are free.

Fines for Riding Bikes on the Wooden Boardwalk
Even though the DecoBike website says that you can ride their bikes anywhere in Miami Beach, there is a $500 fine for using a bike on the wooden boardwalk, and there are warning signs at intervals on the boardwalk, although not very prominent, and with no mention of the fine.

Even pushing a bike on the boardwalk is prohibited, and security guards patrol on bikes enforcing the rules.