Sara Watson Curry, operations director for Great Rides Fargo, said the service broke a one-day record Monday night with 978 bikes rented.

She related some of the statistics to city commissioners Monday night to encourage them to develop bike-only lanes on NP Avenue.

The city is doing so on two blocks on the west side of downtown, but city staff intends to continue the bike lanes to the river in the future.

Great Rides has 101 bikes for rent at 11 docking stations throughout the North Dakota State University campus and downtown, funded in large part by student fees and sponsorship. It launched March 15.

Curry reported that the total number of users as of Monday evening is nearly 2,800, of which 94 percent are students.

NDSU President Dean Bresciani, who also appeared before the City Commission, praised the bike-share service saying he had been wrong to think it wouldn’t be used.

It shows how important bikes are in linking the main campus in the city’s north side and university facilities downtown, and he urged the city to improve bike routes between the two.

As the university grows in enrollment and physically, he said he expects it will run short of space on campus and grow more downtown.

There are some bike lanes on University Drive, the main link between the main campus and downtown, but none like the bike-only lanes on NP, which would segregate bike traffic from car traffic, with bike lanes kept between parallel-parked cars and sidewalks.

Readers can reach Forum reporter Tu-Uyen Tran at (701) 241-5417

Earlier: Bike share arrives in Fargo with 101 bikes, 11 docking stations at NDSU, downtown