Walking to a destination has become passé. San Diegans are now rolling, as three new bike share businesses started peddling their dock-less cycles throughout the City in the past two weeks. LimeBike brought out its bright green bicycles on Feb. 16, making it the first dock-free bike share business to launch in the City. Soon after, Ofo planned to began deploying its yellow bikes to share. And on Feb. 23, Mobike rolls out its signature silver and orange dock-less bikes to locations in San Diego.
After launching in Imperial Beach and National City last year, LimeBike expanded its service area to all of San Diego. They also plan to roll out their Electric Assist Bike model, dubbed Lime-E, and soon a scooter, called Lime-S, making San Diego the first market to have all three LimeBike options. LimeBikes are available in more than 45 markets. All their bikes are GPS and 3G-enabled, making it simple for riders to find, unlock and pick up a nearby bike using their smartphone. When the ride is finished, riders simply lock the bike’s back wheel and responsibly park between the pedestrian-designated sidewalk and the street curb, or at a bike rack. To celebrate the launch, riders can use code “SDLIMEBIKE5” for $5 in credits towards rides until end of February. Since first launching in LA last November, Ofo has seen a positive response from folks who have welcomed a greener and more affordable way to travel. Whether it’s filling a transportation gap during a morning commute, running errands during lunch, or enjoying the outdoors on the weekends, Ofo riders appreciate the convenience and availability of bike sharing when and where they want it. How it works: Open the app and find all the bright yellow bikes around you. When you’re at the bike, tap “unlock” and scan the barcode to automatically unlock and enjoy the ride. Simply park your bike and manually lock it to end the trip. To celebrate their entrance into San Diego, ofo is offering free rides through the end of February.
San Diego becomes Mobike’s fifth U.S. market, and adds to the company’s global expansion into more than 200 cities and 12 countries in less than two years.
Using specially-designed bikes equipped with GPS and proprietary smart-lock technology, Mobike enables users of its smartphone app to find a bike near them, to reserve and unlock it. After reaching their destination, users manually lock the bike, which automatically makes the bike available to the next rider. One of Mobike’s core principles is responsible operating, meaning the quantity and location of bikes are exclusively based on supply and demand. This tactic maximizes impact while reducing congestion, ensuring bikes are where the community needs them, when they need them. To find out more about the new bike sharing businesses, visit mobike.com, ofo.com, and limebike.com.
