Docking station and public funding-free 'smart' bike sharing scheme comes to UK

Mobikes: more convenient for users, but they must not inconvenience other road users, says Greater Manchester Mayor

Mobikes: more convenient for users, but they must not inconvenience other road users, says Greater Manchester Mayor

A 'smart' bike sharing scheme without docking stations or public funding that has proven popular in Asia is to launch in Manchester and Salford later this month.

The Mobike scheme will launch with an initial 1,000 bikes accessible to anybody downloading the Mobike app after Mobike agreed a voluntary code of working with the city councils and Transport for Greater Manchester to ensure it does not inconvenience other road users. Mobikes are equipped with smart-lock technology and users are encouraged to park the bikes according to the rules by a point-scoring system.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, commented: “This scheme could help make cycling more accessible to people, but it is an untested idea in the UK and we will need to keep this under review. We’re conscious that our city centre is a complex and busy area already."

Launched in Shanghai in April 2016, Mobike's first year saw users cycling over 2.5bn kilometres. Their popularity has led to a prediction that there will be 100m shared bikes by 2025. The company uses data analytics to not only allocate their fleet across the city depending on traffic, weather and other variables – but also support city planners, local businesses and authorities with urban planning.