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Company type | Societas Europaea |
---|---|
nextbike | |
Industry | Urban transport |
Predecessor | Nextbike GmbH |
Founded | 2004 |
Founder | Ralf Kalupner |
Headquarters | Erich-Zeigner-Allee 69-73, , |
Area served | Europe |
Key people | Leonhard von Harrach (CEO), [1] Sebastian Popp (COO) [2] |
Products | Bicycle sharing systems |
Services | Mobile app, website |
Website | www |
nextbike is a German company that develops and operates public bike-sharing systems. The company was founded in Leipzig, Germany, in 2004. As of June 2024, it operates in cities of 20 countries including Germany, UK, Poland, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland. [3] The headquarters with about 100 employees are based in Leipzig. The bicycles and stations are maintained by local service partners. Since 2021, nextbike GmbH has been a wholly owned subsidiary of TIER Mobility. [4] As part of the merger, nextbike turned into the joint brand nextbike by TIER.
The bike sharing schemes can be initiated by cities and franchise partners. The operating costs are financed by contracts with public transport providers & municipalities, rental fees and the sale of advertising space on the bikes themselves. nextbike also provides mobility programmes for colleges or universities and companies. Their bike sharing service can be used as an elementary component of urban and regional mobility in over 300 cities worldwide.
Bicycle users are normally obtained through a subscription system, where each bike is locked to either itself or to a rental station. By scanning the QR code on the bike with the nextbike app bikes can be rented. The bikes can be returned via app, hotline, terminal. There are cities with a flex zone allowing users to return the bike anywhere within a defined area for a small additional fee.
nextbike operates in German cities such as Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich, Nuremberg and Dresden. [6] The biggest implementations of the system in Germany are in Ruhr, with 3,000 bikes, [7] and Berlin with 5000 bikes. [8] Besides large cities, nextbike also serves about several smaller German cities, like Bonn, where it has 900 bikes. [9]
KVB-Rad Since 2015 nextbike together with the public transport company of Cologne offer around 1500 bikes for rent. They are available everywhere within the flex zone and complement the public transport system. [10] In 2021 the system will be renewed with 3000 bikes of the latest generation. The flex zone will be complemented with stations outside of the city center. [11]
Metropolradruhr metropolradruhr was launched in 2010 as one of the biggest regional bike sharing system in Germany. It links ten cities such as Dortmund, Bochum, Essen and Oberhausen. Bikes can be returned in any of these ten cities. [12]
VRNnextbike In 2015 nextbike together with the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Neckar launched another cross-city bike sharing system with more than 2000 bikes connecting Mannheim, Heidelberg, Ludwigshafen and since 2016 also Bensheim and Speyer and many other cities. [13] nextbike cooperates with local universities and colleges offering special conditions for students. [14]
Two of the biggest public bike rental schemes operated by nextbike are Veturilo [15] in Warsaw with 5 292 bikes [16] and MOL BuBi [17] in Budapest.
In 2014, several bike sharing schemes were launched in the UK, including the cities of Bath, [18] Glasgow, [19] Milton Keynes [20] and Stirling. [21] In April 2015 a new public hire scheme was launched in Belfast, branded Belfast Bikes. [22] [ failed verification ] A scheme was launched in Cardiff in May 2018. [23] The contract for the Bath bike sharing scheme ended in February 2019, and the bikes were no longer available to hire from the 8 February 2019. [24] Described as Nextbike's "flagship scheme" in the UK, the Cardiff bikes were used even more often during the pandemic in 2020. [25] The scheme in Cardiff shut down on 31 December 2023 after Nextbike stated that 3000 bikes had been vandalised or gone missing. [26]
A bicycle-sharing system, bike share program, public bicycle scheme, or public bike share (PBS) scheme, is a shared transport service where bicycles are available for shared use by individuals at low cost.
OYBike was a bicycle sharing scheme in west London, Reading, Farnborough and Cardiff in the United Kingdom. The Cardiff scheme ended 23 December 2011 with OYBike citing a lack of ongoing sponsorship.
Vélib' Métropole is a large-scale public bicycle sharing system in Paris, France. The system encompasses more than 16,000 bikes and 1,400 stations. The name Vélib' is a portmanteau of the French words vélo ("bicycle") and liberté ("freedom").
Cycling in Cardiff, capital of Wales, is facilitated by its easy gradients and large parks. In the mid-2000s between 2.7% and 4.3% of people commuted to work by cycling in the city. In 2017 12.4% of workers cycled to work at least 5 days a week. However, cyclists in the city are deterred from cycling by poor facilities and aggressive traffic, according to research by Cardiff University.
BikeMi is a public bicycle sharing system in Milan, Italy. It was launched on 8 December 2008 and is contracted to and operated by Clear Channel on the basis of its SmartBike system. The scheme encompasses 4,650 bicycles and 325 stations.
Nextbike was a bicycle rental scheme in New Zealand, franchised from the German Nextbike company. It operated in the CBD and central suburbs of Auckland from 2008 to 2010. Due to lack of sufficient advertising revenue, the company ceased operations in that year after failing to win emergency funding from the new Auckland Council. However, it is expected to make a bid for a newly tendered contract by Council to provide a public bike rental scheme, as the bikes of the scheme are still present in storage.
Dublinbikes is a public bicycle rental scheme which has operated in the city of Dublin since 2009. At its launch, the scheme, which is sponsored by JCDecaux, used 450 French-made unisex bicycles with 40 stations. By 2011, this had expanded to 550 bicycles and 44 stations, and in 2013 it was announced that a major expansion of the scheme would add a further 950 bikes and another 58 hire points. Dublin was the 17th city to implement such a scheme, and it was considered one of the most successful bike-sharing schemes in the world; however, in recent times, progress has stalled, with only 2 of 14 phases being rolled out. As of 2016 the scheme lost €376,000 a year, leading to further expansion of Dublin Bikes being put on hold.
SmartBike DC was a bicycle sharing system implemented in August 2008 with 120 bicycles and 10 automated rental locations in the central business district of Washington, D.C. The network was the first of its kind in North America, but was replaced by the much larger, publicly funded Capital Bikeshare system in the fall of 2010. SmartBike DC officially ceased operations in January 2011.
BCycle is a public bicycle sharing company owned by Trek Bicycle and is based in Waterloo, Wisconsin, United States. It has 34 local systems operating in cities across the United States. However, in several cities it operates under a name other than BCycle
Veturilo is a public bicycle sharing system in Warsaw, Poland, launched on 1 August 2012 with 55 stations and 1000 bicycles in 3 districts - Śródmieście, Bielany and Ursynów, 2 other stations started operating in the middle of August in Wilanów. It is the biggest public bicycle sharing system in Poland and the fifth largest in Europe. It is also considered one of the most successful bike sharing systems in the world.
Bay Wheels is a regional public bicycle sharing system in California's San Francisco Bay Area. It is operated by Motivate in a partnership with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Bay Wheels is the first regional and large-scale bicycle sharing system deployed in California and on the West Coast of the United States. It was established as Bay Area Bike Share in August 2013. As of January 2018, the Bay Wheels system had over 2,600 bicycles in 262 stations across San Francisco, East Bay and San Jose.
BuBi is a bicycle sharing network in Budapest, Hungary. Its name is a playful contraction Budapest and Bicikli, meaning "bubble" in an endearing manner. As of May 2019 the network consists of 143 docking stations and 1,846 bicycles.
PBSC Urban Solutions, formerly the Public Bike System Company, is an international bicycle-sharing system equipment vendor with their headquarters based in Longueuil, Quebec. The company develops bicycle-sharing systems, equipment, parts, and software, and sells its products to cities in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Brazil and more. The company has sold about 100,000 bikes and 9,000 stations to 45 cities.
Belfast Bikes, also known for sponsorship reasons as Frank and Honest Belfast Bikes as is a public bicycle rental scheme which has operated in the city of Belfast since April 2015. At its launch, the scheme, which was then sponsored by Coca-Cola HBC, used 300 Unisex bicycles with 30 stations.
Healthy Ride is a public bicycle sharing system that serves parts of Pittsburgh. Operations started on May 31, 2015, with 50 stations and 500 bikes. The system is owned and operated by Pittsburgh Bike Share, a Pittsburgh-based 501c3, with bikes provided by Nextbike.
Santander Cycles MK is a bicycle hire scheme based in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom. The scheme is operated by nextbike and sponsored by Santander UK. The scheme launched on 17 June 2016.
CycleHop LLC is a bicycle sharing platform and mobility company that operates bike share systems in fifteen cities in North America, including Vancouver Bike Share in British Columbia.
Micromobility refers to a range of small, lightweight vehicles, driven by users personally. Micromobility devices include bicycles, e-bikes, electric scooters, electric skateboards, shared bicycle fleets, and electric pedal assisted (pedelec) bicycles.
Donkey Republic is a Danish company that operates public bike-sharing systems. The company was founded in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2014. As of June 2024, it operates in cities of 8 countries including Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Finland and Sweden. The company is listed on Nasdaq Nordic since 2021. Donkey Republic primarily serves urban areas, integrating with city public transportation systems to improve mobility and decrease traffic congestion.