How to Start an E-Bike Sharing Business: Step-by-Step Guide
How to start an e-bike sharing business in 11 steps: pick a model, talk to the city, choose bikes, devices and software, set prices and plan 90 days.
Launch & Growth · 9 min read
Bike sharing software for dockless e‑bike and bike fleets
Axons Mobility is bike sharing software for free-floating (dockless) e-bike and bike fleets in cities, campuses, companies and residential communities. Riders unlock and pay in your own branded app, parking zones show them where to leave each bike, and you run every bike from one console. Try it free for 15 days on your own bikes, then go live with riders in as little as 3 weeks.
Operator console · Live Map
Bike share software for public, campus and company fleets
Open to everyone or only to the people you invite: Axons Mobility runs the bikes, the rides and the money.
Public city bike share
Free-floating e-bikes for a city or town, with GBFS feeds and MDS data for your permit.
University campuses
Bikes for students and staff, open to everyone or on a private fleet with starting credit.
Company campuses
Corporate bike sharing for employees on a fleet only invited staff can use, with business trips tagged.
Residential communities
Bikes for the residents of a community or estate, invited in bulk to a fleet only they can use.
How a dockless bike share ride works
From finding a bike to the receipt, in four steps, in your own rider app.
Find a bike nearby
Riders see bikes on the map in your app with each battery level, and can hold one for a short time.
Unlock by QR code or card
They scan the QR code or type the bike's code. Where the bike's device has a card reader, a tap works too.
Ride, followed live
The app shows the live fare, time and distance, and you see the bike move on your live map.
Park and get a receipt
They leave the bike in a parking zone and get an itemised receipt with the route on a map.
Dockless: no docking stations
There are no docks to build or power. You draw parking zones on your map instead, and riders see them in the app.
- Parking zones show riders where to leave each bike
- Before a ride ends, the app shows the nearest parking zone
- A parking photo at the end of the ride, where you require one
- The service area and no-go zones warn riders and record every breach
E-bike sharing software that knows every battery
E-bikes are their own vehicle type, with their own rules. Your team sees every battery on the live map and knows which bikes to charge first.
Your own e-bike vehicle type
Add e-bikes and cargo bikes as your own vehicle type in a minute, each type with its own rules.
Top speed and low-battery level
Each type carries its own top speed, and the battery level at which a bike is flagged for charging.
An idle rule for forgotten rides
A ride left standing ends by itself after the time you set, so a forgotten bike stops running up a fare.
Every battery on the live map
See each bike and its battery on one map, then lock, unlock or force-stop a ride from there.
Charging zones
Mark where bikes are charged as charging zones, one of 5 zone types you draw on your map.
Helmet photo check
Switch on a helmet photo before each ride, per fleet. It is checked on the rider's phone.
Sell more rides with passes, promo codes and group rides
Price rides your way. Riders pay by card or from a wallet with auto top-up, straight into your own Stripe account.
Per minute, hour or km
Flat or free too, with prices by time of day and day of week, and a price cap per ride.
Passes and ride packs
Day, week and month passes and ride packs that apply to each ride on their own.
Promo codes with a budget cap
Percent or fixed discounts, with a budget cap so a campaign never spends more than you planned.
Group rides
One rider unlocks up to 3 bikes for friends, and each ride is billed separately.
Business riders
Riders save company details, tag trips as personal or business and export them as CSV.
Private fleets with credit
Invite staff, students or residents in bulk to a fleet only they can use, with starting credit.
With enough ride history, Revenue Insights suggests which prices to try, each with an estimated weekly gain. See Intelligence
GBFS feeds and MDS data for city bike share permits
Cities that permit bike share often ask for open data. Axons Mobility gives you both standards from the same live data that runs your console.
- A GBFS feed, so journey planners and map apps show your available bikes
- MDS trip and vehicle status data for cities that ask for it in a permit or pilot
- Parking, no-go and speed-limit zones that warn riders and record every breach
- Ride Replay with harsh braking, speeding and zone breaches marked on the route
- One add-on for both, free for fleets up to 25 vehicles; bigger fleets pay a monthly price by size
Two open data standards
GBFS
General Bikeshare Feed Specification: where your available bikes are, for journey planners and map apps.
MDS
Mobility Data Specification: trips and vehicle status, shared with the cities you choose.
Works with the connected devices on your bikes
Axons Mobility sells no hardware. If the devices on your bikes share location, battery and lock status and take lock and unlock commands, our team connects them.
- Keep the devices already on your e-bikes and bikes, from any maker
- Tap-to-ride card readers, fall and tow alerts work where the bike's device supports them
- Bikes with different devices run in one fleet, on one live map
- Go live with riders in as little as 3 weeks; a new kind of device adds the time to connect it
Will the devices on your bikes work?
Send us the make and model. We tell you what each device can do in Axons Mobility before you start.
Bike sharing guides
Plain-language guides on starting an e-bike sharing business, running a campus program and open data for cities.
Campus Mobility: How Universities Run Bike, Scooter and Shuttle Programs
How universities run a campus bike sharing program, scooter sharing or a shuttle: private fleets, student invites, card access, zones, safety and pricing.
Launch & Growth · 8 min read
GBFS and MDS Explained: Open Mobility Data for Operators
What is GBFS and what is MDS? A plain-English guide to both open mobility data standards: what each contains, GBFS vs MDS, privacy and how to prepare.
Technology · 8 min read
Bike sharing questions
Running e-scooters, mopeds or cars too? See scooter sharing software and car sharing software.
Something else? Read all answers or book a demo.
What is bike sharing software?
Bike sharing software runs a fleet of shared bikes or e-bikes: riders find, unlock and pay for a bike in an app, and the operator sees every bike on a live map and manages prices, zones, charging, repairs and payments. Axons Mobility is bike sharing software for dockless fleets, with a branded rider app and an operator console that work with the connected devices on your bikes.
Is Axons Mobility for dockless bike sharing?
Yes. Axons Mobility runs free-floating (dockless) bike and e-bike fleets, so there are no docking stations to build. You draw parking zones on your map, riders see the nearest one before they end a ride, and you can ask for a parking photo at the end.
Can we run a private campus or corporate bike share?
Yes. Make a private fleet that only invited riders can use, invite students, staff or residents in bulk and give them starting credit. Each site can be its own fleet with its own prices and zones, staff see only their own fleet, and business riders can tag trips and export them as CSV.
Does Axons Mobility provide GBFS and MDS for city permits?
Yes. Axons Mobility publishes GBFS feeds so journey planners and map apps can show your available bikes, and provides MDS trip and vehicle status data for cities that ask for it in a permit or pilot. Both come as one add-on, free for fleets up to 25 vehicles; bigger fleets pay a monthly price by fleet size.
Do we need new hardware for our bikes?
No. Axons Mobility sells no hardware. It works with the connected device on your bikes, from any maker, as long as it shares location, battery and lock status and takes lock and unlock commands. Our team connects it for you, and you can go live with riders in as little as 3 weeks, which covers building your branded app and Apple and Google review. A new kind of device adds the time our team needs to connect it.
How much does bike sharing software cost?
Axons Mobility costs $499 a month with 25 vehicles, 1,000 transactions and 500 new riders included, then $4 a month for each vehicle above 25, with a $1,500 setup fee once at the start. For example, 100 bikes are $799 a month on the plan. Above the plan, small per-transaction and new-rider charges apply as your business grows, and add-ons are priced separately. Your quote shows every rate before you sign. Our team sets up a free 15-day trial on your own bikes, with your console ready within one working day.
Try Axons Mobility on your own bikes, free for 15 days
We set up a private fleet for you. Connect a few bikes, draw your zones and set your prices, then ride them with your team and test riders before you pay anything.
Questions first? Email hello@axonsmobility.com.