Google Maps Now Also Shows Bike Sharing

Integration with some sharing mobility services is available in 13 cities worldwide, including Lime Bike. Geographic information systems ( WebGIS ) is a market with more and more competitors daily. Google Maps, which paved the way thanks to the numerous satellites sent into orbit by the Mountain View company, is still on the wave’s crest and often remains the best choice.

The second biggest competitor? Waze. After integrating the app with Lime scooters and electric scooters, Google Maps has decided to promote ecological movement even more, considering all those who prefer to get around by pedaling instead of using cars or public transport.

Bike Sharing: How Does It Work?

Bike sharing is one of the many phenomena that has been expanding in recent years, with a completely saturated car market and the lack of parking that afflicts all large cities. Operation is effortless:

1. We open the bike-sharing app we have chosen (for example, Mobike ) and find the bike closest to us.
2. Let’s reach it (if we are too far away, we can book it, so we have time to arrive without the fear that someone else will take it).
3. Let’s unlock it using the QR Code on the handlebar or the padlock.
4. Let’s enjoy our trip by taking all the time we need.
5. Once you reach your destination, park it in a rack or a bicycle parking area.
6. Let’s block it again. The block will deduct the money from the card based on the time we used it.

Thanks to the latest work of the development team that takes care of Google Maps, it will now be possible to view the nearest bike-sharing rental point and see how many bikes are still available. Google Maps will also integrate the availability of bikes and e-scooters into its indications, particularly those of Lime Bike. The service has been available in the first 13 cities in the American continent for a few weeks now.

Bike Sharing Between Road Signs

Among the icons related to places of interest and traffic shown by Google Maps, there are those dedicated to alternative mobility. Integrating Lime Bike’s bike sharing is also interesting because localization will occur for individual bikes since it is a dockless system, not the classic infrastructure based on fixed pick-up stations. Travel cost estimates will also be shown. This is a significant addition as it demonstrates the rise bike sharing is making among commonly used means of transport.

Lime Bike Like Uber, Joint Investments

Lime’s entry among the services taken into consideration by Google Maps can be explained as follows: if, on the one hand, the rapid diffusion of bike sharing is comparable to that of other similar companies, Uber’s stake in Lime’s capital is crucial. Uber, which is also launching its free-floating bike-sharing Jump, is, in turn, present among the suggestions of Google Maps in America and Lyft. Google is linked to Lime through investments made through its relative financial institution Alphabet Ventures.

Privacy Notes

Google hastened to point out to the US media that the availability of information on the location of Lime’s bikes and e-scooters does not represent a problem for user privacy. The vehicle information is taken from the GPS of the bikes, which users with access to the Lime Bike app unlock. However, there is no exchange of sensitive data between Lime and Google, according to a statement released by a company spokesman of Mountain View.

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