Smart platform for shared bicycles

As urban populations continue to grow, space is becoming more confined, resulting in congested roads, overcrowded public transport and increased carbon emissions.

Many cities have begun to shift towards electric cars and other low-emission transit methods to reduce emissions. Mobility challenges, however, persist.

Urban Sharing has developed an easy-to-use platform for sharing bicycles. The platform’s integrated data analytics and prediction models minimise unused resources.

Already in operation in Oslo and other Norwegian cities, the shared bicycles take pressure off highly-trafficked mass transit. The bikes are an efficient way to quickly move around city centres, especially for short trips, filling a gap left by other transit modes.

In just a few years, Urban Sharing has made bike sharing an integral part of transportation in Oslo through Oslo City Bike. Information about available bikes is now found alongside buses, trams and metros in Ruter, the city’s public transportation app.

In 2017, Oslo saw over 2.6 million trips through Urban Sharing. With an average of 9.8 trips per bike per day, it is one of the most efficiently operated bike sharing systems in the world.

The cities of Edinburgh, Bergen and Trondheim, meanwhile, are implementing Urban Sharing’s new hybrid lock system. The hybrid locks allow for locking bikes in “virtual stations” defined by geo-fenced areas, while also working at traditional docking stations. This way, users have maximum flexibility of how to pick up, use and leave bicycles.

Having an effective bike sharing system can reduce the numbers of cars on the road, thereby cutting carbon emissions.

It can also make existing public transport systems more appealing, by easing the pressure on resources stretched to their capacity.

Urban Sharing is part of the cultural shift away from transportation that is reliant on fossil fuels and toward a future of carbon-neutral mobility.

According to PwC, transport infrastructure investment is projected to rise by five per cent annually until 2025. With urban populations growing rapidly, the need to develop sustainable transport solutions for city centres will only increase.

Since 2016, Urban Sharing has operated city-wide bicycle sharing systems in Norway.