Social Bicycles may make bike sharing projects, with their dedicated docking systems, such as the French Velov and Denver’s B-cycle program, largely obsolete. Each bike has GPS, wireless communications and a lock.
Social Bicycles (Facebook, Twitter and YouTube), will be the first public bike share system with the authorization, tracking, and security systems attached to the bicycle itself. The system does not require separate infrastructure and can be deployed at approximately one-third the cost of existing systems. Any old beater could work.
The system promises to be more affordable and scalable than existing bike share systems and can be deployed in a wider range of settings – small cities, universities, and even corporate campuses.
The Social Bicycle System from Ryan Rzepecki on Vimeo.
Using an iPhone app, the system allows users to drop off, locate, and borrow a bike nearly anywhere. When the bike is locked, it’s locatable using the app, so that someone can borrow it; when it’s in use it doesn’t appear in the app. SoBi will allow a user to find and unlock bikes using a mobile phone and provide a public transportation alternative.
Perhaps local ad revenue could pay for it all. A smartphone on the handlebars might provide a moving guide to the city.
Related Dailywireless stories include Rental Bikes: Free with Location-based Apps?, Bike Sharing Gets an App , Cell Carpooling in France, Tracking Tour de France, Cyclists Monitor Air Pollution, Geocoding Content & Telemetry, HyperLocal: There’s an App for That, Google Mobile Bike Maps, Tour de France 2009, Tracking Tour de California, Flickr Bike, Geocoding Content & Telemetry, Marathon Woman, Tracking the Boston Marathon.
