Velobike () is a
bicycle-sharing system
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.
The programmes themselves include both ...
run by the city of
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
,
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
.
History
The system was opened in 2013. In 2015 the 1st generation of the system was fully replaced by the
Smoove-based solution using
B’TWIN bicycles.
In 2016,
e-bikes were added to the service.
In 2018 e-bikes were replaced by a fleet of
pedelec
A Pedelec (from pedal electric cycle) or EPAC (''electronically power assisted cycle''), is a type of low-powered electric bicycle where the rider's pedalling is assisted by a small electric motor. However, unlike some other types of e-bikes, p ...
s.
In 2018 there were 430 parking stations in the system with 4,300 bicycles. The system had 424,736 users registered and 4,25 million trips annually.
In 2023, the new "2.0" e-bikes were introduced. Before 2023, Velobike operated as a docking station based system only, but with "2.0" e-bikes, it added dockless option too.
The "2.0" became four times more popular than standard, station-based bikes, both e-bikes and standard bikes.
As of 2023, more than 780 stations were available for users, around 10 thousand bikes were available, with 4 thousand of them being electric.
Overview
''Smoove Box'' at the Velobike's handlebar
A user has to pay by a
payment card
Payment cards are part of a payment system issued by financial institutions, such as a bank, to a customer that enables its owner (the cardholder) to access the funds in the customer's designated bank accounts, or through a credit account and ...
(
Visa,
Mastercard,
Mir
''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...
) for a subscription to the system either at the web site, mobile app or the Velobike's station terminal (where available). Access to a bicycle is arranged by account number (user ID) /
PIN pair. A
Troika transport card can also be used instead of the account number.
The system has been sponsored by a number of Russian banks. First, by the
Bank of Moscow, then by the
Sberbank and later on by the
VTB Bank
VTB Bank (; formerly known as ''Vneshtorgbank'', , lit. 'International Trade Bank') is a Russian majority state-owned bank headquartered in various federal districts of Russia; its legal address is registered as St. Petersburg. As of 2022, ...
. The
capital cost {{no footnotes, date=December 2016
Capital costs are fixed, one-time expenses incurred on the purchase of land, buildings, construction, and equipment used in the production of goods or in the rendering of services. In other words, it is the total ...
s are covered by a sponsor while
operating cost
Operating costs or operational costs, are the expenses which are related to the operation of a business, or to the operation of a device, component, piece of equipment or facility. They are the cost of resources used by an organization just to mai ...
s are covered by the city.
Subscription plans
User can buy subscription on day/week/month or seasonal plans to unlock savings on rides lasting one hour or less. There is an additional charge for time over the limit.
See also
*
Outline of cycling
Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding bicycles or other Human-powered transport, human-powered vehicles with Wheel, wheels, for transportation, recreation, exercise, sport, and other purposes.
People who engage i ...
*
Short term hire schemes
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Velobike
Cycling in Russia
Transport in Moscow
Community bicycle programs
Bicycle sharing in Russia