ODUN BIKES – the Open Data Bike Sharing Project

ODUN BIKES – connecting footpaths and public transport

More and more cities and regions are opting to combine public transport and bikes in order to move individual traffic away from roads and public transport. Public bike-sharing schemes are set to be integrated into the Bike Citizens bike navigation app, which can already be found in over 350 cities across Europe, Austrialia and the US, as part of the EU-funded ODUN BIKES project. In addition, a ‘walk-ride-walk’ mode will be added to the app: a feature which displays the shortest route to the nearest bike sharing station, the number of available bikes and the most bike-friendly route to the desired destination. Once you’ve arrived at your destination, the app displays the nearest drop-off point and the location of any free boxes for your bike. All the available bike sharing schemes in participating Bike Citizen cities are displayed in the app as points of interest.

There are numerous publicly supported and private bike-sharing schemes and projects that work very differently. The most difficult task when programming the app is to integrate all these many different bike sharing solutions and to make them compatible with the app. The prototype is already working and was presented to professional audiences as a web-based version at trade shows and conferences, including the CIVITAS Forum 2015 (Ljubljana), Nuremberg Kommunale, ODI summit (London) and POLIS conference (Brussels) among others.

Prototype goes into the first test phase with bike-sharing partners

The app-based version of the project has recently entered the test phase with its first partners. The partners for the initial testing phase are Citybike Vienna, operated by Gewista, the cities of Paris, Hamburg and London. In these cities users of the Bike Citizens app can already use the bike sharing routing. Many companies and other global bike-sharing companies have also already shown interest. In addition to all the cities and regions that offer bike-rental schemes, other potential future partners include companies which set up bike-rental solutions for their employees, or hotels that provide their guests with rental bikes.

In the next stage, the app will be enhanced by a system based on an open data-based feedback tool. This feedback tool enables users to easily enter information about the condition of roads and bike paths in the OpenStreetMap system, thus making it available to all users. This data also makes an important contribution to traffic planning, which in turn improves the cycling infrastructure in cities. Using this new EU-funded development, Bike Citizens opens another business segment which positions the company as an important partner for solving transport and infrastructure problems for cities and regions.

With a few clicks the “walk-ride-walk” routing option can also be tested without using the app.

Foto © Bike Citizens