| Velobike | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Locale | Moscow, Russia |
| Transit type | Bicycle sharing system |
| Number of stations | 430 |
| Annual ridership | 4250000 |
| Website | http://velobike.ru/en/ |
| Operation | |
| Began operation | 2013 |
| Operator(s) | CityBike (Russian: ЗАО «СитиБайк») |
| Number of vehicles | 4300 |
Velobike (Russian: Велобайк) is a bicycle-sharing system run by the city of Moscow, Russia.
The system was opened in 2013. In 2015 the 1st generation of the system was fully replaced by the Smoove-based solution using B’TWIN bicycles.[1][2]
In 2016, e-bikes were added to the service.[3] In 2018 e-bikes were replaced by a fleet of pedelecs.[4]
In 2018 there were 430 parking stations in the system with 4,300 bicycles. The system had 424,736 users registered and 425 million trips annually.[3]
A user has to pay by a payment card (Visa, Mastercard, Mir) for a subscription to the system either at the web site, mobile app or the Velobike's station terminal (where available). Access to a bicycle is arranged by account number (user ID) / PIN pair. A Troika transport card can also be used instead of the account number.[6][7]
The system has been sponsored by a number of Russian banks. First, by the Bank of Moscow, then by the Sberbank of Russia and later on by the VTB Bank. The capital costs are covered by a sponsor while operating costs are covered by the city.[8]
User can buy subscription on day/week/month or seasonal plans to unlock savings on rides lasting one hour or less. There is an additional charge for time over the limit.[9]
