As the world works to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 3.9 billion people are under full or partial lockdown orders, as of mid-April. Cities have curtailed many public transit operations because of declining ridership and health concerns.
We obsessively cover electric vehicle news here on CleanTechnica since it’s one of the top solutions to global warming and air pollution. But there’s one thing greener than electric cars for city transport — bicycling!
Biking has had decent growth in certain cities around the world in recent years, and one of the biggest innovations stimulating that growth has been bikesharing. I recently ran across (i.e., searched out) recent bikesharing news that has slipped through our editorial fingers.
Haven’t heard of HOPR? Don’t worry, neither had we until we saw a new press release from the company and thought there was something newsworthy there. The company appears to have a nice solution to improve and supplement the use of electric bicycles (e-bikes).
Apple Maps has been around for some time, and thankfully is nothing like its awkward early days of spotty information and so-so accuracy. Today, Apple wants to make its Apple Maps part of the bike-sharing landscape by facilitating the sharing of information.
Ola, the India-based on-demand taxi service (“ridesharing” service) commonly referred to as India’s Uber, has begun trialing a new system/app that combines its taxi service with a dockless bikesharing service (as well as with an on-demand auto-rickshaw service) in some parts of the country.
Moving back west after interviewing some great EV charging leaders in Ukraine (see this interview and this interview), the article below features expert commentary from our friend Jakub (Kuba) Stęchły, who has had multiple roles in the e-mobility transition underway in Poland. ?? He is currently … emperor of MaaS … ?? You may recognize him as the dude I drove to Paris and back with in a Tesla Model S. Even after talking with Kuba for days, I found the answers below provided me with a wealth of new information, insight, and interesting points.
The e-bike revolution is gaining ground quickly as more people discover the health and economic benefits of riding a bicycle versus driving, especially in crowded cities.
Are you are interested in more mobility alternatives? Interested in carsharing and bikesharing? Like the train? If you are in Germany, the “New Mobility World” might interest you. Ford is offering one app to use a bikesharing or carsharing system in the country. It is the first carmaker to be involved in a bikesharing project in Europe, according to the press release, which is part of a collaboration with Deutsche Bahn. Together, they are offering 3,200 FordPass bikes in the service.
In order to deal with a situation that has apparently snowballed out of control, the city of Wuhan in central China has banned any further deployments of bikeshare programs, according to the country’s official news service Xinhua.
Bikeshare programs are a great solution to urban density. Bikeshare programs, which are increasing in both number of locations and expansion of individual programs, allow commuters to get around dense urban areas by renting a bike from one station and returning at another. These innovative programs are great for drivers, who see less traffic on city streets, and great for workers, who can take a quick bike ride to the post office, to lunch, or to a meeting without having to take a cab or their own car. They are affordable and safe alternative to downtown commuting.
