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Hong Kong’s first bicycle-sharing service gobee.bike kick-starts this week

Gobee.bike, Hong Kong’s first bicycle-sharing system, launched International Bike Day with over 1000 smart bicycles spread out across key locations in the New Territories which include bike-friendly Sha Tin, Tai Po, and Ma On Shan. This number is set to grow to 20,000 by July.

The newly-introduced service aims to cover most of Hong Kong (including Kowloon, Hong Kong Island, Discovery Bay and Park Island) by the end of the year, and allows riders to rent bicycles by simply using a mobile application and GPS. With public bike-sharing systems in place in over 1000 cities worldwide, Hong Kong’s differentiates itself by letting riders drop their bikes in any public space, without the restriction of fixed bicycle stations.

Noticing the inaccessibility of bicycles in Hong Kong and the inconvenience of renting one, CEO and co-founder Raphael Cohen decided to introduce the highly affordable service, offering an eco-friendly, healthy and affordable way of travel. “Our mission is to bring bike-sharing to the masses and make it accessible to anyone looking for convenience, whether they are students, daily commuters, or tourists,” says Cohen. “As a fast-growing international enterprise with a world-class team, we are excited to bring cycling to you anytime and in any place”.

The recognizable bright green gobee.bike bikes are equipped with a basket, a smart light for night rides and an integrated alarm system to prevent theft. To rent one of the bicycles, riders can log in to the brand’s mobile application on their smartphones, locate the nearest ride through an active map, and unlock it within seconds by scanning a unique QR code placed on the smart lock of each bicycle. Cyclists can then park at any designated public area. By locking the bike, the system automatically cedes charging, and the total usage time and price are made visible. While the cloud-based system is currently only accessible on Android phones, the company is working on extending the availability to iOS users.

With the majority of living spaces in Hong Kong being too small to make owning a bike feasible, in addition to being convenient, gobee.bike allows users to embrace a healthier lifestyle as they opt to cycle to their destinations in lieu of using public transportation or even driving, and in a city with already high pollution levels, gobee.bike offers a more environmentally-friendly choice. Whether for a daily commute, a family day out or an afternoon spent sightseeing, these bikes present an attractive alternative so far unseen in Hong Kong.

Renting a bicycle from gobee.bike costs HK$5 per half hour and payments can made directly through the application by linking a credit card.

(Edited on 25/4/17)