Report: More bike share companies coming to Seattle

Seattle’s bike share pilot is switching into the next gear. There will now be double the number of bikes to rent lining the streets. And that’s just the start of the next wave as two new companies aim to operate in town.

When two bike share companies launched in Seattle in July — Limebike and Spin — they were each allowed a total of 500 bikes. The Seattle Times reports that on Monday they were allowed to increase their numbers to 1,000 each. During their third month, they can increase to 2,000 bicycles each, with no limit for subsequent months. Seattle has limited companies to 340 bicycles per square mile, however.

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While the two bike share companies have been competing during their limited launch, the competition is about to peak. Two more private bike share companies have submitted permit applications to operate in Seattle, the Times reports.

That means up to 4,000 shareable bikes could be on the street within a month — and plenty of permit fees going to the Seattle Department of Transportation. MyNorthwest estimated that one company with 2,000 bikes could pay about $30,000 in bike fees (they are required to pay $15 per bike).

Two new bike share companies

Beijing-based Ofo, and VBikes of Garland, Texas have reportedly applied to bring their bike shares to Seattle and enter the race with Spin and Limebike. Ofo has been operating in China since 2014. VBikes already has operations in Dallas, Denton and Irving in Texas. Dallas already had one experience with a city-run bike share, which failed. Sound familiar? Seattle’s Pronto bike share also went flat. The private companies raced into town after Pronto left.

So far, bike shares have had some success in Seattle. Spin provided 5,008 rides during its first week of operations. Limebike provided more than 5,000 rides within two days.

Seattle is part of a multi-city launch for Limebike. It has also started bike share operations in Dallas (along with VBikes), Greensboro, NC, and South Lake Tahoe.

Like the bike shares already in Seattle, both Ofo and VBikes are stationless bike shares. Customers use a smart phone app to locate a bike to rent. The bikes are parked along sidewalks throughout the city. The app then scans the bike’s bar code and the rear wheel unlocks. Customers spend $1 to rent a bike for 30 minutes (though VBikes reportedly charges per hour elsewhere). Once you lock the bike up, you are charged for the rental.

So far, Google reports that the Limebike app has more than 10,000 downloads and has a rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars. Spin’s app has been downloaded roughly 1,000 times and has about 2.5 out of 5 stars.

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