It’s a small wonder that bike sharing program or bike sharing apps have proliferated in recent years. Wondering how this tring…tring… got a sudden craze?
These bike sharing systems have been around for a couple of decades, but in past few years they have gained much more prominence with a bike sharing mobile app and of course new tech-infused cycles.
This is definitely a brilliant idea. Because bike sharing system is getting conceived by almost all nations slowly. Moreover with Uber’s collaboration with JUMP into bike sharing market, the company’s biggest competitor Lyft is also gearing up to make its presence in the bike sharing market by acquiring Motivate.
The Popularity of Bike Sharing Apps
Looking at the statistics shared by Bike-sharing Blog and Statista, shows bike sharing app has really clicked into a higher gear in recent years.
“As of May 2018, more than 1,600 bike-sharing programs were in operation worldwide, providing more than 18 million bicycles for public use.” – Statista
The following image by Statista shows the growth of the bike-sharing program around the world.
Seeing the response from the people, it’s quite obvious for anyone to come up with some more ideas of bike sharing program or developing a new bike sharing app. But before becoming a new entrant into this field, one must learn about the current market and also from the giants in this field.
China is the country that supports bike sharing program on a wide scale. If you look at the global figures, there are around 2.3 million bikes available for public use and out of these around 1.9 million bikes are located in China. [Source]
So if you are looking to develop a bike sharing app, we have made a list of few factors or can even say “lessons” any startups should learn from the rising trend of bike sharing apps.
Check what your competitors are doing
Before jumping to some startup or entrepreneurship always know your enemies first. Thoroughly study them and plan your entry into the field. Study everything their success, their failure, their functioning and their future expansion plans. Know what’s in their app and services that made them so popular like easy booking and payment options.
At the same time you need to study the subordinates. Just because they are performing low comparatively, you should not ignore them. You never know when they will bring your idea into their app or program.
Don’t be so long to start your startup or launch your bike sharing app
When you are just planting your seed, some might be already watering theirs. So the more you wait to launch, the more competitions is heating up. Uber and Lyft were not the first to make an entry to it. Even before that there were some big players like Ofo and LimeBike, who spread this bike sharing fever.
The sooner you make your brand known to the public, your startup will be accepted and loved by them for years, as the bike-sharing market is rising and every second count.
Stick to your goal and keep working on your target customers
Sticking to the basic offering of the app should not be changed in any case. Amidst focusing on making app better than others, don’t forget your ultimate goal, i.e. a robust app for bike sharing. No need to fancy app, because gone are the days where users loved too much colourful and heavy apps. Time is for cool, light weight and less color in apps.
When deciding your target customers, don’t be in a notion that “customers are set, we’re done.” In fact the audience should be continuously refined and redefined according to the strategies and services you offer.
For example, if you offer some discounts to school kids and senior citizens, you not only increase your audience base but also gain attention among your country’s government in one or the other ways.
SEE ALSO: How to Leverage The Micro-Moments of Customers?
Lastly but most important…Keep innovating
Your app should have something new or a better Unique Selling Proposition (USP) than your competitors. Users want something new every now and then. Users shift to other service providers easily if they find your app more interesting with better options and interactive at the same time.
Keep experimenting, researching, innovating and implementing things. And never forget to put customer preference as your topmost priority.
Wrapping Up…
Rolling out a bike sharing app is a prime necessity once you have everything planed for bike sharing system. Profitability of the business and service is yet another story. But one thing is for sure that convenient, affordable and no-carbon commute system will be an important element of the public transit system.
A well-designed bike sharing app can help the bike sharing service reach a large audience and attain huge success in a short period. A large number of users like bike sharing apps as they solve the last mile problem. This can be one of the encouraging factors to build your own bike sharing app.
Got an idea for your own bike sharing app or bike sharing business? Do drop us an email to have a coffee meet with our experts and discuss how it can be initiated.
