Smart Bike-Sharing System for Tehran

EghtesadOnline: Striving to improve the quality of urban life, as well as realizing the dream of turning Tehran into a smart city, a new startup has launched a dockless bike-sharing system that facilitates short-distance journeys.

News ID: ۷۸۳۵۴۱

04 August 2018

The first Iranian smart bike rental platform dubbed ‘BDOOD’ (pronounced ‘Bee-DUDE’, literally meaning ‘zero-emission’) was unveiled in Elecomp 2018, standing out among others as its services were showcased in the fair’s open space, wrote local technology news website Digiato.

Docked all around the pavilion were the bicycles with orange paintjobs that made them quite noticeable. Visitors were given the chance to see them up close or try them for a ride around the fair.

Using eco-friendly and sustainable technologies to enhance the urban transport system, BDOOD is an affordable service that aims for promoting a healthier, and happier society, Financial Tribune reported.

“After conducting a one-year research, it has been ten months that BDOOD entered the operational phase,” said Saeed Babayousefi, director of Paak Charkh Iranian, which is the parent company of BDOOD.

“We designed the bicycles in a way that they could withstand damage and dispense with the need for repair to the greatest extent possible,” he added.

According to Babayousefi, a smart lock system, compatible with IoT (Internet of Things), is built into the platform, providing the ‘lock’ and ‘unlock’ option through the BDOOD smartphone application.

How It Works

Using the app, and scanning the QR code inscribed on either the lock or the handlebars, one can unlock the bike, or lock it upon the end of the trip.

The nearest bike all across the city will be pinpointed on the application’s mapping system, leading the user toward the place where it is currently docked.

Afterwards, the users may cycle to their desired location, get off, lock the bike using the smart system, and choose the ‘end the trip’ option on the app. Customers will be charged a minimal fare in return for the trip which can amount to a short taxi ride in Tehran (under $1).

Interesting information such as the borrowing duration, the mileage, calculation of the constrained carbon footprint, as well as the amount of the calories burnt while riding the bike, will be provided by the application; in addition, in case the bicycle breaks down on your way to a destination, BDOOD technicians will be sent to help you out.

The people in charge are planning to add electric bikes to the fleet, capable of handling steep routes.

As many as 120,000 bicycles are already stored in BDOOD warehouses. Presently, users can download the app from bdood.ir, and it is set to be offered on local app markets Cafe Bazaar (Android) and Sib App (iOS) in the near future.

Cyclists of ages 15 years and above can register on the app to pick up a bike.

According to Babayousefi, measures have also been devised to ward off vandalism and theft.

Trendy Commuting System

Even though the given scheme is a prevalent trend in Western and East Asian metropolises, it has not yet taken off in Iran.

In the past, cycling infrastructures, mainly maintained by municipalities, depended on fixed docking stations for shared bikes; however, factoring in convenience for the cyclist community brought about the need to introduce more accessible cycling methods for inner-city travel with no fixed drop-off point.

The first smart bike sharing system in the world was introduced by the Chinese company ‘Ofo’ in 2014, stepping up the cycling game on a whole new level. Ofo is hailed as the ‘Uber of bikes’, currently going through a breakneck race with runner-up ‘Mobike’ in an uptake of foreign ridership.

The rental bicycle systems are currently used in 217 cities all around the world.

Nonetheless, one of the main glitches in the scheme, on a global scale, seems to be the ensuing bicycle-clogged streets, deemed as a great nuisance to citizens already exhausted with eyesores of urbanization, convincing authorities to confiscate dockless bicycles that are improperly parked, potentially blocking pedestrian traffic on sidewalks as well, which is by far a greater inconvenience imposed on people.