Bicycle-sharing system

This article is about access to a bicycle fleet service. For access to an individual bicycle, see Bicycle rental. For the sharing of an individual bicycle, see Sociable, Tandem bicycle, and Quadracycle.

Docked bicycles in Gothenburg, Sweden

A bicycle-sharing system, bike share program,[1] public bicycle scheme,[2] or public bike share (PBS) scheme,[3] is a shared transport service where bicycles are available for shared use by individuals at low cost.

The programmes themselves include both docking and dockless systems, where docking systems allow users to rent a bike from a dock, i.e., a technology-enabled bicycle rack and return at another node or dock within the system – and dockless systems, which offer a node-free system relying on smart technology. In either format, systems may incorporate smartphone web mapping to locate available bikes and docks. In July 2020, Google Maps began including bike share systems in its route recommendations.[4]

With its antecedents in grassroots mid-1960s efforts; by 2022, approximately 3,000 cities worldwide offer bike-sharing systems,[5] e.g., Dubai,[6] New York,[7] Paris, Mexico City, Montreal[8][9] and Barcelona.[10][11]

  1. ^ "The Many Benefits of Bike Sharing Programs". Commute Options. 17 November 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  2. ^ Kodukula, Santhosh (September 2010). "Recommended Reading and Links on Public Bicycle Schemes" (PDF). European Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  3. ^ mattlamy (18 June 2019). "A guide to hire bikes and public bike share schemes". Cycling UK.
  4. ^ Porter, Jon (20 July 2020). "Google Maps now shows cycling routes using docked bike-sharing schemes". The Verge. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  5. ^ Feargus O'Sullivan (26 February 2022). "The Radical Roots of Bikesharing". CityLab.
  6. ^ Solutions (2 December 2019). "PBSC Partners with Careem in Dubai to Launch First Large-Scale Electric Bike-Share Network in the Middle East". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). PBSC Urban. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  7. ^ Coulon, Jessica (19 February 2020). "Citi Bike Reintroduces E-Bikes to New York City Bike Share Fleets". Bicycling. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Montreal bike rental". BIXI Montréal. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Montréal Bike Share Program". PBSC Urban Solutions. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  10. ^ Everett, Hayley (1 October 2018). "PBSC to supply Barcelona bike-share scheme with 1,000 e-Bikes". Cycling Industry News. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  11. ^ "Barcelona Bike Rental System". PBSC Urban Solutions. Retrieved 27 August 2021.