Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Outdoors
  3. News

There's a new bike-sharing platform in town, and this one is dockless

Lulu Chang
By

bluegogo dockless bike share 15167691 1815638825376204 4243390000426249553 o
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Your transportation ought to be every bit as mobile as you are, especially if you’re renting it. Luckily, there’s a new bike share platform that agrees. Meet bluegogo, the first smartphone-enabled, dockless bike share platform to launch in the U.S., which makes its official debut in San Francisco Monday. Heralded as “the most convenient, efficient, and healthy option to navigate cities and campuses,” bluegogo sets itself apart from other similar bike sharing platforms with what it doesn’t have — a parking station for all those rental bikes. Instead, thanks to the platform’s smartphone, GPS, and solar technology, users will be able to search, reserve, unlock, and pay for bluegogo bikes wherever they are (and wherever the bikes are), all from their mobile devices.

“Like other bike sharing companies, we’re providing the convenience of cycling without the hassle and worry of bike ownership,” said Ilya Movshovich, the company’s VP of Operations. “We stand apart by offering a supply of great bikes with no membership fee with no pre-determined pick-up or destination. We can quickly adapt our supply to meet consumer demand while reducing traffic on the streets.”

Recommended Videos

At launch, the bikes (which are manufactured by global cycling brand SpeedX), will be located in public bike racks around San Francisco. But once they’re taken, they’ll be spread out all over the city, and users will simply find the nearest one when they’re in need of a bike ride. Users are charged a dollar every 30 minutes — there are no overage charges for extended journeys, and no membership fee required.

Related

And don’t worry — just because this is a dockless system doesn’t mean it’s any less safe. Rather, the bikes all come with a smart lock, unique frame and tires, security screws, and a built-in alarm system to guard against theft. The bike’s companion app will also give you the history on your own bike riding habits, including your distance traveled, routes taken, carbon emissions saved, and calories burned.

“We implement high-end professional bicycle standards in our design and manufacturing, a great improvement from the everyday bike. We believe the outstanding quality of our bikes provides the best possible experience for our users,” said said Ye Sun, bluegogo’s Chief Operations Officer. “bluegogo will be the most convenient and affordable bike sharing platform ever seen in the US. We believe being able to park our bikes anywhere within city regulations, starting in San Francisco, is going to change how we all navigate urban areas,” he concluded.

So if you’re in the San Francisco area, go ahead and take one of these bikes out for a spin.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Lulu Chang
Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
The Apple Watch Ultra looks great, but there’s one reason why I won’t buy it
A person's wrist showing the Apple Watch Ultra and its compass mode.

After many months of speculation, Apple has finally unveiled the Apple Watch Ultra at its jam-packed Far Out event. Touted as “the most rugged and capable Apple Watch ever” by Apple’s Jeff Williams, this souped-up, ruggedized wearable is aimed at fitness fanatics and sports enthusiasts who might be dissatisfied with the regular Apple Watch.

Yet, despite all that, the Apple Watch Ultra has left me unimpressed. Don’t get me wrong, I was interested in it going into the event -- I’m no extreme explorer, but I wanted to see what Apple could cook up for people who enjoy staying as active as possible. But Apple’s latest offering to the fitness market gets one thing wrong in an important way.
Life’s bumpy road

Read more
AMD’s new tool compares its GPUs to Nvidia’s, but there’s a catch
An AMD Radeon RX 6000-Series graphics card in front of a black and red background.

AMD has just launched its new GPU Comparison Tool, which is aimed at being a quick and easy way to determine which graphics card might be best for you based on your gaming needs.

The tool gives you insight into the performance of nearly all of the best GPUs from both AMD and Nvidia. However, a closer look at the tool raises questions as to how legit it is.

Read more
This e-bike does phone tech better than some phones
Urtopia

What if riding your bike was like using a smartphone? That’s the proposition behind the new Urtopia E-bike, which offers features more commonly associated with a product from Samsung or Apple rather than a bicycle manufacturer.

The carbon-fiber Urtopia has a built-in 4G connection, voice control, a fingerprint ID, and other technology. I have spent time riding the bike and playing with the tech and came away with the impression that this bike is both fun to ride and a gadget-lover’s dream.
High-tech biking
Just like your phone, the Urtopia has a built-in 4G data connection that will let you track the bike if it's lost or stolen. The cellular connectivity also lets Urtopia push out automatic software updates to the bike.

Read more