Chinese Dockless Bike Sharing Scheme Coming to Ealing

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Mobike to start with 750 bikes in the borough from September

A new low-cost rival for the Santander ‘Boris Bike’ scheme is to be launched in Ealing next month.

Mobike, which is a Chinese based firm, entered the UK market in Manchester earlier this month and is starting its London service in Ealing borough with 750 bikes.

Unlike Boris Bikes the new scheme will not have docking stations. Users will be charged 50p per half hour after paying a £29 initial refundable deposit. The bikes can be booked using an app and unlocked using a QR code. The company says there is a GPS system on each bicycle, helping to locate and monitor the condition of bikes. Although the service will launch in Ealing there will be no restriction on the area of London in which they can be used.

A similarly named scheme called Obike was launched in Hammersmith & Fulham recently by a company from Singapore but caused problems as carelessly abandoned bikes caused obstructions. Hammersmith & Fulham Council say they were not consulted on the launch of the scheme but the Mobike scheme appears to have the approval of Ealing Council with the Council Leader Julian Bell having been quoted encouraging residents to use the scheme.

Steve Pyer, general manager of Mobike in the UK said, “We’re committed to working closely with Ealing and other boroughs to make Mobike, and bike-sharing as a whole, a successful experience for Londoners.”

As well as scheme is China, Mobike also operates in 150 cities most recently launching in Florence and Milan.

The company raised over $1billion last year and is reportedly valued at up to $3bn currently.

July 31, 2017