Danes bring the world’s simplest bike sharing system to the masses

In a few weeks’ time, the Danish start-up Donkey Republic will be taking their bike sharing system to the masses, through a crowdfunding campaign. The new concept is called AirDonkey. This means that in addition to renting out their cars and homes, people can also rent out their bikes using a bluetooth enabled bike lock.

The Donkey system is flexible, allowing people to check their bike into the system when they don’t use it themselves by locking their bike with the Donkey lock in a public location. The bike owners can decide when to make their bikes unavailable to the system if they need to use it. The AirDonkey platform doesn’t require any interaction between the bike owner and the user, who simply finds the bike via the Donkey Republic App, unlocks it with his or her smartphone and pays a daily usage fee through the app.

Donkey Republic charges a small percentage of the fee and the rest goes straight to the bike owner. Bike sharing made easy.

The technology actually works

Donkey Republic has already tested the system in and around Copenhagen, and therefore the technology is ready and it works. The bike-loving city has been the perfect test area for the company, who so far have tested the lock on their own bikes, which they have then placed mainly close to stations in and around Copenhagen.

The technology doesn’t require docking stations. Instead, users create digital zones in the app, within which the user must drop off the bike at the end of their rental. In the meantime, users can drop the bike anywhere, and simply use the app to track it and pick it up again when they need it.

The masses should define bike sharing systems

“Too many people only use their bike once in a while or has a spare bike for guests that is hardly ever used. We want to enable people to make money from their own bike, their spare bike and also give them the chance to start micro-businesses. This way they can co-create a better economy and experiences for both bike owners and bicycle users at the same time. The lock combined with the platform provides them with the opportunity to do all that”, says Erdem Ovacik, co-founder of Donkey Republic.

You can sign up to purchase a Donkey kit right here www.airdonkey.com