Manchester Mobikes Scheme To Be A First For Transport for Greater Manchester

Manchester is the home of many great attractions and talent. Now it is the home of the Mobike scheme. The shared bike scheme came about when China’s largest bike sharing company, Mobike launched their service in Greater Manchester, United Kingdom on June 29.

The Chinese bike sharing company reached a milestone tweeting out that ‘Manchester will become the 100th Mobike city and the first outside of Asia’. Not only that, but the company decided to expand their services into Singapore. Their competitor, Ofo which is another leading bike sharing startup in China, was also on the same page as Mobike as they launched their bikes in Cambridge, England but on a much smaller scale of just 20 bikes.

Mobike took that to the next level and have told UK reporters that they are planning to put up to 1000 bikes across Manchester and Salford. The scheme is fully supported by local councils and companies such as Transport for Greater Manchester, Manchester City Council and Salford City Council.

Local Manchester logistics companies and organisations will help to redistribute the bikes (which were unloaded overnight to train stations, major throughways, entertainment, leisure, food and retail locations as well as other key locations in the vibrant Greater Manchester scene. The logistics companies will help to ensure that the bikes are delivered in good condition and to the key locations of high demand all throughout the city.

Not only will this scheme encourage locals to ride a bike instead of using their cars to reduce fossil fuel emissions, but it also promotes a healthy and active lifestyle in times of terror due to the recent bombing in Manchester Arena.

The Mobike launch even has representatives from Manchester Metropolitan University. Travel plan manager Andrew Taylor states, "At Manchester Metropolitan we are very excited about the launch of the Mobike scheme. We are working closely with Mobike to ensure the scheme can be effortlessly accessed by our staff and students. The scheme will potentially mean that cycling becomes a more convenient and affordable way to travel, and we are optimistic that Mobike will support the greater uptake of cycling in the city."

Another plus side to this new bike sharing scheme in Manchester is that it reduces the costs of travelling and makes for an innovative journey. The bikes are designed to be equipped with a built in GPS and smart lock technology that is only responsive to the renter of the bike. Users of the Mobike app can also find a Mobike near them, reserve it or unlock it. Once the user reaches their destination, they can park the bike on the roadside and lock it, ready for the next person to use.

The bikes have a deposit of £49 and are offering a discounted deposit price of £29 in the month of July. The deposit is fully refundable. As well as this, each use is charged at 50p per 30 minutes. This is may be a more economical solution than London's 'Boris Bikes' scheme also known as Santander Cycles which costs £2 to unlock followed by £2 for every 30 minutes after the first half an hour free of charge.

The company officially launched its service in Shanghai in April 2016, and in just over a year, has since expanded the service to 130 cities globally. They plan to continue to expand their horizons and reach out to more counties in Europe, Asia and the Americas.