YouBike ( Chinese: 微笑單車;

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

: ''Wéixiào Dānchē''), originally Taipei Bike Sharing System, is a public

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 ...

service offered by the

Taipei City , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Countr ...

Department of Transportation in a

BOT Bot or BOT may refer to: Sciences Computing and technology * Chatbot, a computer program that converses in natural language * Internet bot, a software application that runs automated tasks (scripts) over the Internet **Spambot, an internet bot ...

collaboration with local manufacturer

Giant Bicycles Giant Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (commonly known as Giant) is a Taiwanese bicycle manufacturer, recognized as the world's largest bicycle designer and manufacturer. Giant has manufacturing facilities in Taiwan, the Netherlands, China and Hungary. Th ...

. As of March 2025, YouBike service stations are available in the following areas in Taiwan:

Taipei City , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Countr ...

New Taipei City New Taipei City is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality located in regions of Taiwan, northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 4,004,367 as of January 2023, making it the most populous city in Taiwan, a ...

Taoyuan City Taoyuan () is a special municipality located in northwestern Taiwan, neighboring New Taipei City to the north-east, Yilan County to the south-east, and Hsinchu County to the south-west. Taoyuan District is the seat of the municipal gove ...

Hsinchu County Hsinchu is a County (Taiwan), county in Regions of Taiwan, north-western Taiwan. The population of the county is mainly Hakka people, Hakka; with a Taiwanese aboriginal minority in the southeastern part of the county. Zhubei is the county seat ...

Hsinchu City Hsinchu (, ), officially Hsinchu City, is a Provincial city (Taiwan), city located in northwestern Taiwan. It is the most populous city in Taiwan that is not a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality, with estimated 450,655 inha ...

Hsinchu Science Park The Hsinchu Science Park (HSP; ) is an industrial park complex that originated as one campus straddled Hsinchu City, Hsinchu County, Chunan and Tongluo, later expanded to cover six campuses across Taiwan. It was established by the government of ...

Miaoli County Miaoli is a county (Taiwan), county in western Taiwan. Miaoli is bordered by Hsinchu County and Hsinchu City to the north, Taichung to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the west. Miaoli is Regions of Taiwan, classified as "central Taiwan" by t ...

Taichung City Taichung (, Wade–Giles: '), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality in central Taiwan. Taichung is Taiwan's second-largest city, with more than 2.85 million residents, making it the largest city in Central Taiwan. It serves as th ...

Chiayi County Chiayi is a County (Taiwan), county in Taiwan. Located in Regions of Taiwan, southwestern Taiwan surrounding but not including Chiayi City, it is the sixth largest county in the island of Taiwan. Its major tourist destination is Alishan Natio ...

Chiayi City Chiayi (,), officially known as Chiayi City, is a Provincial city (Taiwan), city located in Chianan Plain in Regions of Taiwan, southwestern Taiwan, surrounded by Chiayi County with a population of 263,188 inhabitants as of January 2023. The H ...

Tainan City Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a special municipality in southern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and commonly called the " prefectural capital" for its over 260-year histo ...

Kaohsiung City Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of ...

Pingtung County Pingtung () is a County (Taiwan), county located in southern Taiwan. It has a warm tropical monsoon climate and is known for its agriculture and tourism. Kenting National Park, Taiwan's oldest national park, is located in the county. The county ...

, and

Taitung County Taitung () is the third largest county in Taiwan, located primarily on the island's southeastern coast and also including Green Island, Orchid Island and Lesser Orchid Island. The seat is located in Taitung City. Name While its name means "East ...

. Additionally, YouBike service stations are also available in

Putian Putian ( zh, s= , Putian dialect: ''Pó-chéng''), also known as Puyang (莆阳) and Puxian (莆仙), historically known as Hinghwa/Hinghua ( zh, s=兴化, t=興化), is a prefecture-level city in Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. I ...

, China. In 2014, the system saw 22 million rentals, double the 11 million rentals the previous year, with 196 rental stations circulating 6,046 bikes.Two wheels make a comeback in Taiwan
BBC News, 11 Feb 2015 As of February 2023, there are a total of 1,582 YouBike 1.0 rental stations and 5,246 YouBike 2.0 rental stations across Taiwan, with a total of 653 million rentals.

History

Launched in 2009, the system initially saw an unexpectedly small number of daily users in the trial district of Xinyi. This prompted the city's to expand the system along the

Taipei Metro Taipei Metro (also known as Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and branded as Metro Taipei) is a rapid transit system operated by the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation serving the capital Taipei and New Taipei City in Taiwan. It was the first rapi ...

lines and into several more districts. The slow initial adoption of YouBike rentals was overcome through adjusting the business model, such as by lowering rates (including making the first 30 minutes free of charge), and increasing ways to open an account (online via the YouBike website or at the kiosks).About YouBike
Taipei City Department of Transportation. Retrieved 23 January 2014. In April 2015, the Taipei Department of Transportation began charging YouBike riders for the first 30 minutes of use. In 2020, the improved new system, YouBike 2.0, is taking its trials near

National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; zh, t=國立臺灣大學, poj=Kok-li̍p Tâi-oân Tāi-ha̍k, p=, s=) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in 1928 during Taiwan under J ...

. The new system allows bike renting with only smartphones and reduces the limitations of station infrastructure. The government hopes that the new system will help build a larger scale of bike rental network.The new, white, 2.0 system is now found across Taiwan. In 2021, the Taipei City government pledged to retire all of the first version of YouBike, YouBike 1.0, by the end of 2022 due to positive feedback on YouBike 2.0. YouBike 1.0 service in Taipei City was retired in December 2022.

Bikes

The yellow bikes are normal ones while there are a smaller number of orange bikes that are electric and offer pedal assist. They are more expensive to use. Leihfahrrad YouBike-Taipei

According to the company, each of the system's bikes costs about NT$10,000 (US$330) because they are designed to withstand frequent use. The bicycles are built to be used 13 times a day on average, much more often than the twice daily use that most other bicycles average. Each bicycle has an

RFID Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder called a tag, a radio receiver, and a transmitter. When tri ...

tag for vehicle tracking and theft prevention. There is a 15-minute renewal restriction period at the station to which the bike was returned.

Fees

The cost of YouBike rental varies between areas in Taiwan, depending on whether the local government offers subsidies. In most jurisdictions, renting a non-electric YouBike 2.0 rental costs NT$10 per 30 minutes for the first 4 hours, NT$20 per 30 minutes in hour 4-8, and NT$40 per 30 minutes after 8 hours before subsidies.

Government subsidies

* NT$20 subsidy for first 60 minutes (first hour free): Taoyuan City (except 2.0E) * NT$10-12 subsidy for first 30 minutes (first 30 minutes free): Taipei City (except 2.0E), Miaoli County, Taichung City, Chiayi County, Chiayi City, Pingtung County, and Taitung County * NT$5 subsidy for first 30 minutes: New Taipei City (except 2.0E), Tainan City (with Tainan Civil Card 臺南市市民卡 only), and Kaohsiung City Some jurisdictions also offer transfer discounts. For example, using an EasyCard to rent a YouBike in New Taipei City and then transferring to the Taipei MRT, New Taipei MRT, or bus, gives an additional NT$5 discount, for a total of NT$10 off (i.e. the first 30 minutes of using YouBike are free). No other fees, such as a deposit or membership fee are required to use YouBike.

References

External links

Official Website

Station Map
{{Bicycle sharing systems Transportation in Taiwan Community bicycle programs Bicycle sharing in Taiwan 2009 establishments in Taiwan