Bcycle case study

B-CYCLE BIKE SHARING KIOSKS

CASE STUDY

Improving the Culture of Transportation with Bicycle Sharing Kiosks

B-cycle’s automated bike rental platform provides a convenient and affordable transportation alternative to local commuters and tourists. While enhancing citywide infrastructure, B-cycle delivers a network of bike sharing stations enabling easy bicycle rental and return. Users have the option of either becoming an annual “B-Connected” member with unlimited use privileges for a nominal annual fee, or they can rent bikes at the kiosk on an as-needed basis.

B-cycle was formed by the combining efforts of three major American companies:

• Humana• Trek Bicycle Corporation• Crispin, Porter + Bogusky

These partners shared one common goal: to change the way commuters get around. Their fundamental objective was to provide a convenient, affordable, and fun citywide infrastructure enhancement that would profoundly change the behavior of its commuting citizens. The solution became a network of bike sharing stations.

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CHALLENGE:

The B-cycle vision was to provide a self-service bike share solution that would profoundly change the behavior of local commuting citizens across the nation.

SOLUTION:

KIOSK worked closely with the B-cycle team, creating a fully custom rental and return platform:

• Flexible rental and docking stations to accommodate various infrastructure needs

• Integrated RFID technology for bike tracking and faster release mechanisms

• Software development that optimized user fl ow and network management

• Solar, off-grid power functionality

BENEFITS:

• Convenient bike sharing with simple rental and return

• Outstanding citizen adoption and usage rates

– Created over 15 U.S. bike sharing networks - 250 stations, totaling 3,250 bikes and counting

B-CYCLE FEATURES

B-cycle has installed more than 250 bicycle stations in over 15 U.S. cities, town, and corporate / university campuses totaling 3,250 bikes and counting. Each deployment consists of two main components - a fixed kiosk rental station with associated bicycle docks, and an inventory of 10-12 Trek bikes. It also includes a convenient, intuitive user interface designed to enhance the user’s B-cycle experience.

Over 90% of the B-cycle project technology is custom designed.

B-cycle docking stations can be configured as a single or dual sided linear layout to accommodate existing infrastructure limitations. There are interlocking, docking station base plates that install temporarily for short-term, high demand events (i.e. Olympics / political conventions ) or bolted permanently to the concrete (long-term).

Each bicycle docking station houses a custom controller board, a proprietary locking mechanism, LED user notification, and an Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) reader for inventory control. First time or non-members rent at the kiosk using the simple user interface; however B-Connected Card Holders can bypass the kiosk and check out at the docking station by swiping their membership card (with an integrated RFID chip) over the reader,

releasing the bike in seconds. The docking station LED indicator lights tell users when they can take the bike (green) or if the card / bike is not allowed (red).

B-cycle stations are designed with RFID technology for intelligent inventory control and return placement balancing. Users can return a bike at any B-cycle station and RFID tracks all rentals and returns, updating the software user interface with valuable real-time asset information. This allows users to locate nearby B-cycle stations with rental or return availability.

KIOSK’s Application Development Team authored sophisticated rental software providing a simple,

self-serve transaction flow with fast processing for bike rental and return, ensuring a positive customer experience in the unattended environment. B-cycle’s software application also provides important inventory tracking and network management capabilities, enhancing the overall solution reliability.

CASE STUDY B-CYCLE BIKE SHARING KIOSKS

B-Connected card members also enjoy an added benefit. Each bicycle is designed with an integrated handlebar computer that logs miles ridden, calories burned, rental duration, and the user’s personal carbon offset contribution. This data is fed to the “B-Connected” member’s personal B-cycle web page (membership perk).

GREEN SOLUTION

KIOSK’s current generation of B-cycle units utilize solar power (independently or in conjunction with AC grid backup) which optimizes long-term performance and efficiency. In strategically placed outdoor deployments, up to 100% of the solution power can be solar-based.

Designed for outdoor use, the B-cycle kiosk houses a low-power outdoor touch screen display, credit / member card reader and wireless communications capabilities all integrated into an industrial PC solution. Plus, it’s fully weather sealed and coated with graffiti-resistant powder coat paint. And the bikes are designed to be rugged, lightweight, and very low maintenance.

B-CYCLE SOLUTION BENEFITS

B-cycle’s network of bike sharing stations allows commuters convenient and affordable access to an alternative transportation solution.

Improving the Culture of Transportation

B-cycle’s solution provides cities, towns, and campuses with:

• Enhanced citywide infrastructure

• Manageable interface design and back-end support

• RFID technology for inventory control and return placement balancing

• Configurable docking station platform to accommodate infrastructure limitations

• Solar powered stations optimize for long-term performance and efficiency

B-cycle’s solution offers consumers:

• B-Connected RFID member card access for easy bike rental and return

• Uniform, user-friendly interface and application design

• LED and audible notifications for bike release

• Accessible city-wide docking stations

ADDRESS: 346 SOUTH ARTHUR AVENUE · LOUISVILLE, CO 80027

PHONE: 303.466.5471 · TOLL-FREE: 1.800.509.5471 · FAX: 303.466.6730

EMAIL: [email protected] · WWW.KIOSK.COM

KIOSK QUICK INFO

• Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Louisville, Colorado, KIOSK Information Systems provides

expertise in design engineering, application development, integration, manufacturing, and fi eld support.

• KIOSK is the largest producer of kiosks in North America.

• KIOSK provides design and manufacturing of both custom and standard model kiosks with successful

deployments in virtually every self-service vertical market.