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Ford's electric GoBikes have arrived in San Francisco
Bike-sharing company Motivate is expanding its San Francisco offering to include electric versions of Ford's GoBikes. They'll be available at no extra cost in the same way as Ford's regular GoBikes, which can be unlocked with the accompanying app or via the Clipper card. The roll out will initially include 250 bikes, which are designed to give riders an added boost while pedalling -- up to 18mph in fact -- so you'll still be able to ride in bike lanes.
Silicon Valley’s scooter scourge is coming to an end
San Francisco is a city where companies frequently like to try out new ideas. Uber had its start here many years ago, as did success stories like Twitter and Airbnb. So it's no surprise that San Francisco happens to be one of many cities experiencing a new form of transportation: sharable electric scooters. They appeared in downtown SF seemingly out of nowhere, taking over sidewalks and pedestrian paths. But what was marketed as a low-cost, eco-friendly way to get around town soon became a public nuisance.
Uber buys San Francisco bike-sharing service Jump
Uber is getting serious about its bike-sharing aspirations. The company just announced its purchase of Jump, the bike-sharing platform featuring "electric, dock-less" bikes. Previously, Jump bikes were available in the Uber app as part of a pilot program. Rather than going to a specific rack in the city, bikes from Jump can be dropped off and locked up wherever it's legal to park a bike. Details are scant at the moment, but it looks like you can order a bike as easy as you'd order a black car or Prius. You can also continue to use the Jump app if you'd rather.
NYC’s mayor has a plan to get e-bikes on city roads
San Francisco and other cities around the US have been rolling out pedal-assisted e-bike sharing programs to help decrease street traffic and air pollution. Now New York City's Mayor Bill de Blasio has directed his city's Department of Transportation to start making rules that allow pedal-assist bicycles on the streets. Throttle e-bikes that can travel faster than 20 MPH, will not be included in the legalization effort, however. Pedal-assist bikes have been illegal to operate under the current administration due to safety concerns.
Apple Maps now includes bike-sharing locations in 179 cities
Apple and Ito World have partnered to bring bike-sharing dock information to Apple Maps, TechCrunch reports. Now, in a number of cities, users can just type "bike sharing" or the name of a bike-sharing service into the Apple Maps search bar and it will show you all of the nearby docks as well as the bike-sharing service's website and phone number. Ito World's bike share data feed currently includes information for 179 cities in 36 countries.
Mobike's dockless bike-sharing service comes to Washington, DC
Washington DC is one of the most bike-happy cities in America, with around five percent of commuters pedaling around the city each day. That's one of the reasons why Mobike, a company that has mostly been in China and Europe until now, is launching a pilot for the first dockless bike-sharing program in the capital. It's starting with 200 bikes in the pilot program for now, a pittance next to the millions it has in China, but plans to expand the program across the US if things go well.
London is now awash with bike-sharing schemes
How many bike-sharing schemes does London need exactly? Well, at least five if you ask the companies behind such services. Today, Ofo comes to the capital, following a limited trial in Cambridge that began earlier this year and a launch in Oxford last month. Initially, the Chinese firm has dotted 200 bikes around the London Borough of Hackney. Yesterday, European outfit Urbo announced it was also arriving in London this month, putting 250 bikes on the streets of the Borough of Waltham Forest.
NYC's Citi Bike adds Apple Pay to make bike-sharing easier
Next time you rent a Citi Bike in New York or New Jersey, you'll be able to pay with your iPhone. The latest update for the bike-sharing service's app adds support for Apple Pay, as spotted by AppleInsider. No, this isn't the most exciting update, but it does make using the app a little faster and easier for new users. From here on out, they won't have to stand idly on the sidewalk, fumbling with entering credit card info in the app just so they can take a quick ride to the JC Penny a few blocks away.
