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Simplifying Urban Mobility: Revolutionizing Bike Sharing with IoT-Powered Innovation
In this case study, discover how our client, a pioneering Norwegian startup in shared mobility solutions, overcame complex challenges in urban transportation. With our user-friendly solutions and expertise in hardware management, we helped to enhance their market presence and operational efficiency.
Our client startup based in Norway, a pioneer in shared mobility solutions, has international expertise in providing shared bikes, e-bikes, e-scooters, and cars through user-friendly applications.
The startup’s approach incorporates intelligent bicycles and dockings, wireless charging, and a white label concept, resulting in a transformative impact on urban mobility.
Highlights
Trivia– As per a study by ADEME, the French agency for ecological transition, a daily 2-kilometer home-to-work trip in a car emits 221 kg of CO2 annually, making it the most polluting mode of travel.
In contrast, walking and cycling have negligible CO2 emissions of 0 kg. Choosing to bike once a week instead of driving a car for a year saves half a ton of CO2.
Challenges
In the journey towards transforming urban mobility and sustainability, our client encountered multiple challenges that required innovative solutions.
Collaborating with us, the project addressed these challenges head-on, leading to the development of the IoT-based software solution that matured bike sharing system-
- Complex Hardware Management: The diverse hardware ecosystem presented a significant challenge for the solution. With various types of bikes, locking mechanisms, and charging docks, ensuring compatibility and effective management posed a complex puzzle. Each event required careful consideration to maintain accuracy and reliability, demanding a comprehensive solution that would unite these separate components coherently.
- Location Accuracy and Tracking: Accurate user location tracking was a critical requirement for successful bike sharing operations. This issue demanded a solution that would also provide real-time updates.
- Integration Complexity: The existence of various lock and integration systems created challenges. These systems needed to be optimized and streamlined to allow stability and scalability. Ensuring compatibility across different lock brands and achieving consistent performance required an advanced solution.
Solution
In response to the challenges faced by the company in managing diverse hardware and providing an optimal bike sharing experience, our team engineered a comprehensive IoT-based software solution.
This solution addresses hardware management complexities, and also enhances user flexibility. Here’s an in-depth look into our contribution:
- White Label Solution and Admin Dashboard: Our innovative white label solution allows our clients to extend their services under different names and brands across various regions.
Each white label app comes with its dedicated admin dashboard, offering distinct administrators a comprehensive view of information. This multi-tenant approach streamlines management while maintaining data privacy. Built on Cloud managed Microservice and Multi-tenant architecture to ensure maximum scalability.
- City-Specific Pricing Plans: To offer a more personalized user experience, city-wise pricing plans have been introduced. When a user joins the platform, they select their city, gaining access to customized pricing structures. This allows users to choose plans that suit them, including pay-as-you-go, subscription, or B2B plans with business email domain verification.
- IoT-Based Locking System: At the core of our solution lies an IoT-based locking system that enables smooth bike rental processes. Users can unlock bikes through the application or even remotely. The system validates the user’s city and pricing plan before granting access, ensuring a secure process. This feature eliminates the need for physical keys, minimizing maintenance efforts.
- Flexible Ride Management: Our software solution empowers users to manage their bike rentals effortlessly. Users can pause and lock their rides if they need to make a stop during their journey. Once they complete their task, they can easily resume the rental process.
- Cashless Transactions and Billing: This solution is built around a cashless transaction model. Users provide card information during onboarding, and the system deducting fees based on ride duration. Once the ride concludes, users receive receipts, enhancing transparency.
- Reservation and Coupon Systems: Our solution includes a reservation system that allows users to book bikes in advance, with a reservation fee deducted. To add value, we integrated a coupon system that rewards users with free minutes or other benefits. By factoring in these coupons during the billing process, our solution maximizes user engagement.
- Charging Dock Integration: Addressing the challenge of bike charging, we integrated a sophisticated dock system. Battery-powered bikes, such as e-bikes and scooters, can be docked in dedicated charging stations. The bikes automatically charge through the dock’s wireless induction technology, optimizing bike readiness.
- Wallet Functionality: We added wallet integration for quick transactions, simplifying payments.
- External Integration: The solution seamlessly integrates with external systems through the General Bikeshare Feed Specification (GBFS), allowing available bikes and their attributes to be displayed on other platforms.
Benefits
Results
Market Differentiation and Expansion: The introduction of city-specific pricing plans, flexible ride management, and white label branding has allowed them to differentiate its services and reach new markets across various regions, creating new avenues for business growth.
Operational Efficiency: This solution enhances integration and performance, and also simplifies maintenance. This results in cost savings and improved reliability.