Bike-sharing schemes are becoming increasingly common in cities around the world, but not every city that offers such a service has an intuitive process in place for checking the availability of both bicycles and spaces for parking. 'Ride' is a new multi-city platform that handles that for anyone in a city with a bike-sharing scheme; it collects publicly available data provided by bike-sharing schemes and displays it in a simple UI that virtually anyone should be able to follow.
Ride is separated into two pages. One is a map, which is pulled straight from Google Maps, that has an overlay with circles. Those circles' colors correspond to the amount of bikes available, with green standing for more than three, oranges for one to three, and red for empty. The other page is a linear layout that shows each bike parking port and the numbers of bikes and spaces at them.
Hybrid Bike-Sharing Sites
The 'Ride' Platform Displays Information on Bike-Sharing Schemes
Trend Themes
1. Intuitive Bike-sharing Platforms - Opportunity for creating user-friendly platforms that display real-time information on bike-sharing schemes.
2. Data Aggregation and Visualization - Potential for platforms that collect and present data from various bike-sharing schemes in a visually appealing and easy-to-understand format.
3. Multi-city Bike-sharing Solutions - Emerging trend of platforms that offer information on bike-sharing schemes across multiple cities, catering to travelers and locals alike.
Industry Implications
1. Transportation - Disruptive innovation opportunity for transportation companies to develop easily accessible and comprehensive bike-sharing platforms.
2. Technology - Opportunity for technology companies to create data aggregation and visualization tools specifically tailored for bike-sharing schemes.
3. Tourism - Emerging market for tourism companies to provide multi-city bike-sharing solutions that enhance the travel experience and promote sustainable transportation.