UK's
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
first dockless
bicycle sharing
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 bo ...
company, founded in early 2017. The bikes are unlocked via YoBike's
smartphone app
A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...
. YoBike first launched in
Bristol
Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
in May 2017, followed by
Southampton
Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
in September 2017, but had ceased operations in both cities by 2021.
History
YoBike was co-founded by Bin Wang and Michael Qian in early 2017, citing Bristol's strong cycling culture as a main factor in their decision to launch. In early May 2017, 300 initial bicycles were deployed in Bristol.
In 2017 the cost were £1 per hour, with a daily cap of £5; an annual commuter pass was £39 entitling a rider to two one-hour long journeys each day. Whilst bikes were allowed to be parked anywhere, the YoBike app indicates suggested parking areas to promote good cycling habits.
Against early claims of illegal parking, YoBike offered users a 50p discount on their rides if illegally parked bikes were returned to the central Bristol area.
In mid-September, YoBike launched 300 bikes in
Southampton
Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
(however, the company has pulled out of the city in August 2019).
As of April 2018, YoBike had a fleet of 1000 bikes in Bristol, 300 bikes in Southampton and around 1000 bikes in
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
,
Mexico City
Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
, and
Austin, Texas
Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
. It announced expansion into
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
.
YoBike ceased hire operations in Southampton in August 2019 and in Bristol in March 2021.
The business continues to operate internationally through its white-label operations, such as 'IndigoWeel' in France.
Equipment and usage
YoBike members use the YoBike app on their phones to locate nearby bicycles. Each bicycle is equipped with a
smart lock
A smart lock is an electromechanics, electromechanical Lock (security device), lock that is designed to perform locking and unlocking operations on a door when it receives a prompt via an electronic keypad, biometric sensor, access card, Bluetoot ...
which is accessed via
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is li ...
. They use the app to scan the QR code and unlock the bike, and then manually lock the bike in a designated parking zone. In addition, YoBike users can suggest parking places via the YoBike app.