Pacers Bikeshare mix-up leads to $100 bills, refunds

You can buy a 24-hour pass for $8 as part of Indy's new Pacers Bikeshare program and get unlimited use of a bike for 24 hours.

But there's a catch. If you don't check the bike in every 30 minutes at one of 25 stations dotted along the Cultural Trail, that $8 bill will skyrocket to $194 for 24 hours.

Why? Bikes, even with a 24-hour pass or an $80 annual membership, still must be checked in at a station every 30 minutes. If you don't, there are overage fees of $2 for the first 30 minutes and $4 for each 30 minutes after that.

The program is three months old and even the executive director of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, which launched the bikeshare program in April, admits there is some confusion.

"It's new to the city," said Kären Haley, executive director of the Cultural Trail. "But the rules are posted at every station."

Riders who make a first-time mistake and contact the bikeshare program are being given refunds, Haley said. Overage fees have ranged from $50 to $150.

"We want people to have a good bikeshare experience," she said. "If someone does have a bad experience, we'll work with them."

Mary Ellen Mellitz counts herself among the confused.

"I was under the idea that this was a 24-pass," said the Crawfordsville woman. "And that meant I could have the bike for 24 hours."

So Mellitz and her sister came Downtown last month for a leisurely Saturday bike ride. They were out eight hours, stopping for lunch, going to the library and enjoying coffee.

That 8-hour ride — without checking in the bikes in at a station — cost each more than $60.

"They need to make this much much clearer to people," she said.

The rules are not much different from bikeshare programs in other cities.

In Chicago, for example, a 24-hour pass is $7. But the overage fees are even steeper than Indy's. For the first 30 minutes over it's $2; for the next 30 minutes, $6; and for every 30 minutes after that, riders are charged $8.

On its website, explaining the 24-hour pass, it is stated in bold letters that it is "Unlimited 30 minute trips."

In Indy, the idea behind the 24-hour pass is to let riders have access to a bike at different periods throughout the day.

"Maybe take a morning ride, check the bike in," said Haley. "Then go out in the evening."

Jared Small, Indianapolis, said that doesn't make sense to him.

"I just don't see why anyone wants a bike for maybe 25 minutes," he said. "

But as Haley argued. Riders are free to keep a bike for two or three hours.

"You don't have to check it in," she said. "But you will incur additional fees."

Call Star reporter Dana Hunsinger Benbow at (317) 444-6012. Follow her on Twitter:@danabenbow.