Dubai to deploy 3,500 bikes at 350 docking stations
DUBAI: Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Careem launched Phase II of bike rental service (bike-share) by adding 950 pedal-assisted e-bikes (bikes operated by pedals and kinetic energy), and 95 stations, which will bring the total number of bikes in Dubai to 1,750 bikes at 175 stations. Thus, it has become the first completely pedal-assisted docked bike-share initiative in the world. The step is part of a multi-stage scheme to deploy 3,500 bikes at 350 docking stations across Dubai.
The new stations will be introduced at key areas across Dubai, which will include the new cycling track at Jumeirah Beach, Al Safa, Dubai Canal, Dubai Marina, Al Mamzar, Al Satwa, Jumeirah 1, Al Khwaneej, Al Jaffliya, Business Bay, Dubai Internet City, and Jumeirah Lakes Towers. More stations will be added in various districts during the upcoming expansion., Careem Bikes completed 1.592 million trips as of February 2022.
Matar Al Tayer, Director-general, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority, expressed his delight with the huge success of the joint venture between RTA and Careem for rolling out Dubai’s bike-share service. Al Tayer was also pleased by the growing habit of cycling as a sport.
Careem uses sophisticated smart systems for tracking and predicting high-occupancy areas. It also introduced solar-powered bicycle docking stations and manages rentals via the Careem BIKE app enabling customers to unlock the bikes by scanning the QR code on the bike or entering the 5-digit code from the app at the bike docking station.
Residents and tourists can access pedalassisted bikes through the Careem BIKE app as well as through purchasing as Careem BIKE daily pass (Dhs20), weekly pass (Dhs50), monthly pass (Dhs75), or annual pass (Dhs420, which works out to less than Dhs2 per day).
The service covers many busy areas such as the Marina, Jumeirah Beach, JLT, The Greens, Dubai
Canal, Dubai Media, Downtown Dubai, and Al Qudra as well as safe streets in Al Karama and Al Mankhool. RTA has set the speed limit of bicycles in the emirate at 30 km/h on the designated cycling tracks for amateurs, and 20 km/h on private tracks or tracks shared with pedestrians within urban areas. The speed is unspecified speed on training and professional tracks, such as Al Qudra Cycling Track, as part of RTA’S focus on the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.