Insights and news from the ATOM Mobility team

Bike-sharing apps are reshaping urban mobility. What began as a practical way to get around without owning a bike is now part of a bigger shift toward sustainable transport. 

These services are doing more than replacing short car trips. They help cities cut emissions, reduce congestion, improve health, and connect better with public transport. 

As more cities rethink how people move, bike sharing continues to grow as one of the fastest and most affordable tools to support this change.

Why bike sharing is important

Bike-sharing services now operate in over 150 European cities, with more than 438,000 bikes in circulation. These systems help prevent around 46,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually and reduce reliance on private cars in dense urban areas. They also improve air quality, lower noise levels, and make cities more pleasant to live in.

A recent study by EIT Urban Mobility and Cycling Industries Europe, carried out by EY, found that bike-sharing services generate around €305 million in annual benefits across Europe. This includes reduced emissions, lower healthcare costs, time saved from less congestion, and broader access to jobs and services.

For cities, the numbers speak for themselves: every euro invested yields a 10% annual return, generating €1.10 in positive externalities. By 2030, these benefits could triple to €1 billion if bike-sharing is prioritized.

Connecting with public transport

Bike sharing works best when it fits into the wider transport system. Most car trips that bike sharing replaces are short and often happen when public transport doesn’t quite reach the destination. That last kilometer between a bus stop and your home or office can be enough to make people choose the car instead.

Placing shared bikes near metro stations, tram stops, or bus terminals makes it easier for people to leave their cars behind. This “last-mile” connection helps more people use public transport for the long part of their trip and hop on a bike for the short part. Over time, that encourages more consistent use of both bikes and transit.

In cities where bike sharing is integrated into travel passes or mobility platforms, users can combine modes in a single journey. That flexibility supports wider access and makes shared bikes part of everyday mobility, not just something used occasionally.

What the app brings to the experience

The digital experience behind bike sharing is a big part of why it works. People can check availability, unlock a bike, pay, and end their trip – all in one app. This makes it quick, simple, and consistent.

Good bike-sharing apps also offer:

• Real-time vehicle status
• Contactless ID verification and onboarding
• Support for short trips and subscriptions
• Usage history and cost tracking
• Optional features like carbon savings or route suggestions

When users don’t need to think twice about how the system works, they’re more likely to build regular habits around it. That habit shift is what makes a long-term difference for both users and cities.

Wider city-level benefits

Bike sharing isn’t just a transport service. It helps cities meet public goals – cleaner air, lower traffic, healthier residents, and better access to services. When someone chooses a bike instead of a car, it reduces the demand for fuel, parking, and space on the road.

The €305 million annual benefit includes health savings due to increased physical activity, avoided emissions, time gained from reduced congestion, and the creation of jobs tied to fleet operations. Many bike-sharing schemes also improve equity by giving people access to mobility in areas that are underserved by public transport or where car ownership isn’t affordable.

Shared bikes are especially useful in mid-sized cities where distances are manageable and car traffic still dominates. With the right policy support, even small fleets can have a noticeable impact on mobility patterns and public health.

What makes a system work well

Not every bike-sharing system succeeds. To be reliable and scalable, a few things must work together:

• Safe, protected bike lanes
• Well-placed stations near high-demand areas
• Bikes that are easy to maintain and manage
• Operators that monitor usage and shift bikes to where they’re needed
• City policies that support cycling and reduce reliance on cars

Successful systems often grow in partnership with city governments, public transport agencies, and private operators who bring technology, logistics, and know-how.

The role of software and operations

Reliable software is what keeps all parts of the system connected. From unlocking a bike to seeing usage trends across the city, operators need tools that are stable, flexible, and easy to manage. For those launching or scaling a fleet, platforms like ATOM Mobility offer ready-made solutions that handle booking, payments, ID checks, live tracking, and fleet control in one place.

The platform supports both electric and mechanical bikes, offers branded apps, and integrates with smart locks or IoT modules for remote vehicle access. It also lets operators adjust pricing, monitor vehicle health, and manage customer support in real time. That means smaller teams can launch faster and scale smarter, without having to build every tool from scratch.

A small change with a big effect

Bike sharing won’t replace all car trips, but even a small shift makes a difference. A few short rides per week can reduce emissions, improve fitness, and save time spent in traffic. When these trips are supported by good infrastructure, public awareness, and seamless apps, the impact grows.

As cities continue to prioritise sustainability, shared micromobility will play a bigger role in helping people move in cleaner, healthier, and more flexible ways. With the right technology and planning, bike sharing becomes more than a service – it becomes a habit that supports better cities for everyone.

📊 One of the most requested features in ATOM Mobility is finally live. Meet Popular route heatmap - a new analytics layer that shows which streets and areas your riders actually use most, based on real ride data over time.

Until now, operators could see where rides start and end. Now you can see how people move in between.

Why it matters?

With Popular Route Heatmap, operators can:

🚲 Optimize vehicle placement based on real rider behavior

🏙️ Support discussions with municipalities using clear, visual usage data

📍 Identify missing infrastructure where demand already exists

📊 Make smarter, data-backed operational decisions

The feature was the #1 most upvoted idea on our merchant suggestion platform for years - and we’re excited to finally ship it.

How to use it
Go to Analytics → Heatmaps
Select heatmap type Popular routes
Filter by time period and city
Zoom in to see the busiest routes your riders take

Data availability: Popular route data is available from November 1, 2025 and will continue accumulating going forward.
Inspired by how athletes analyze movement patterns with Strava - now applied to shared mobility operations.

Running a rental or sharing business today means delivering a smooth, digital-first experience. Whether you rent cars, bikes, scooters or other vehicles – users expect to book online, pay, verify identity if needed, unlock a vehicle, and ride or drive without extra friction. 

To make that happen reliably, you need good vehicle rental software or platform backing your service. Below are some successful examples of apps and platforms that show how this works and what is possible.

Donkey Republic 

Operates in several European cities offering shared bikes and e‑bikes. Users find a bike in the app, unlock it with a smartphone, ride, then park at a designated drop‑off spot and end the rental. Pay‑as‑you‑go, daily rates or memberships are all handled via the app. 

MOBY Bikes 

Targets electric bicycles and e‑cargo bikes across certain regions, with a “tap‑and‑ride” system that uses its proprietary app for booking, unlocking, and rental management. The platform supports mixed-use fleets (shared bikes, cargo bikes, delivery fleet, even B2B rentals), which illustrates flexibility – useful for operators exploring different business models beyond simple consumer rentals. 

Forest

It is a dockless e‑bike sharing operator in London. It runs a large fleet and offers bike‑sharing through a mobile app. The service demonstrates how a relatively simple, dockless rental model can scale at urban level using app‑based rentals, unlocking, and flexible parking. 

These examples show how micromobility‑focused services already rely on booking, payment, unlocking and fleet management tech – the same core capabilities needed by any modern vehicle rental business.

What makes these apps work – and what to borrow from them

From these operators you can observe several useful traits that a good rental/sharing software should provide:

• Seamless user journey: crate account in seconds → search → book → unlock → ride/drive → return. Users don’t need paper contracts or to meet staff to get a vehicle.‍
• Flexible pricing & rental models: per-minute, hourly, daily, subscription, memberships – enables both occasional users and frequent commuters.‍
• Smart access control and vehicle tracking: unlocking via app or smart lock, GPS tracking, drop‑off in defined zones or docking stations, helps maintain order, reduce theft, and support dockless models.‍
• Support for different vehicle types: from bikes to e‑bikes and cargo bikes – showing that underlying software can be agnostic to vehicle type, useful if you plan a mixed fleet.‍
• Scalable fleet operations and maintenance: availability updates, booking history, maintenance logs, geofencing or parking zones – these help manage many vehicles across zones without chaos.

These are exactly the kinds of features you need when you move from small‑scale operation to proper fleet business.

Why to choose ATOM Mobility

If you plan to just test the market or to operate a larger and more complex fleet - multiple vehicle types, multiple cities, or advanced operational requirements - a full-stack platform like ATOM Mobility becomes essential.

ATOM Mobility is designed for operators who need full control over the entire mobility operation: booking flows, unlocking logic, payments, KYC/ID verification, backend administration, fleet analytics, dynamic pricing, and multi-modal rentals across cars, scooters, bikes, and more.

The platform provides a unified backend that supports cars, scooters, e-bikes, mopeds, and additional vehicle types within a single system. Operators can manage bookings, payments, users, smart locks or connected vehicles, fleet health, and city-level scaling without fragmenting their tech stack as the business grows.

This approach offers far greater flexibility than single-vehicle or bike-only solutions and removes the need to migrate systems when expanding into new vehicle categories or markets. Check out the full service here.

How to choose: when to use franchising vs full platform

Join a franchising when you:

- prefer operating under an established brand
- value a clear operational playbook and central support
- want simpler marketing thanks to brand recognition
- are comfortable with limited control over technology and product decisions
- accept franchise fees or revenue sharing in exchange for convenience
- don’t need heavy customization or experimentation

Use a full platform (like ATOM Mobility) when you:

- aim to manage a larger, mixed fleet (cars, scooters, bikes, e-bikes)
- need full backend control (admin, analytics, pricing, reporting)
- require payments, KYC/ID verification, and automation built in
- want freedom to customize booking flows, pricing, and partnerships
- plan to scale across cities or add new vehicle types over time
- prioritise brand ownership and customer relationship control
- want no revenue sharing or franchise fees

There isn’t a one‑size‑fits‑all solution 

For simple bike or e-bike fleets, the technology barrier is already low. Joining a franchise can be a fast way to get operations running with minimal setup.

However, operators with long-term ambitions - expanding into multiple vehicle types, scaling across locations, or maintaining consistent service quality - typically outgrow narrow tools. In those cases, a full-stack platform like ATOM Mobility offers the flexibility and control needed to support growth without rebuilding the tech foundation later.

Some operators start small and migrate as complexity increases. Others choose to build on a full platform from day one to avoid future transitions. The right choice depends on how clearly you define your growth path, desired level of control, and operational complexity from the start.

Artificial intelligence is no longer just a trend in mobility. For modern vehicle sharing and rental services, AI is already solving real operational problems and unlocking new ways to grow. At ATOM Mobility, several AI-powered features have already been implemented into live products and tested by operators across Europe.

This article shares three real-world AI use cases that are already helping operators reduce manual work, improve asset control, and better match vehicle availability to demand. 

1. Vision AI: Camera-based parking control for micromobility

Micromobility parking continues to be a challenge in cities where dockless vehicles can end up blocking sidewalks, crossings or entrances. Manual checks are costly and often too slow to solve the problem in real time.

ATOM Mobility now uses computer vision to solve this. With Vision AI, riders take a photo when ending their ride. The system analyses the image using a neural network to understand if the vehicle is parked correctly – within a designated zone and without creating obstructions. If not, the app notifies the user and prevents trip completion until the parking is corrected.Each parking photo is automatically tagged as “Good parking”, “Improvable parking” (the user receives guidance on how to improve the parking), or “Bad parking” (the user is asked to re-park).

If the user fails to submit a “Good parking” photo after several attempts, the system will accept the photo with its current tag (“Improvable” or “Bad parking”) and flag it in the dashboard for further customer support review.

This solution has been live with many operators already. It helps reduce complaints, improve compliance with city regulations, and lowers the need for manual reviews.

2. Precision AI: Detecting car rental damages with cameras and machine learning

In traditional car rental, damage inspection is slow, manual, and often inconsistent. With self-service rentals becoming more popular, operators need a smarter and faster way to verify a vehicle’s condition between trips.

ATOM Mobility has integrated AI-powered damage detection using computer vision. Customers scan the vehicle at pick-up and drop-off. The app compares images and flags scratches, dents, or other visible damage with high accuracy. This allows operators to quickly assess responsibility and reduce disputes.

The system helps protect the fleet, lowers repair costs, and adds trust for both users and operators. It’s especially useful for car sharing and self-service rental models where physical handovers are skipped.

3. Prediction AI: Forecasting demand and automating vehicle relocation

One of the biggest cost factors in shared mobility is rebalancing the fleet. If scooters or cars are idle in the wrong location, revenue is lost. At the same time, relocating vehicles manually is expensive and not always efficient.

ATOM’s AI models use historical trip data, usage trends and contextual signals (such as day of the week or weather) to forecast demand and suggest the best relocation zones. This gives operators a map of where and when to move vehicles – improving utilisation and saving time.

The system can even be combined with automated relocation logic, where users are incentivised to park in high-demand areas. This shifts part of the rebalancing cost from operators to riders and keeps the fleet productive.

Why this matters now

AI tools are finally reaching the stage where they can operate reliably, even in complex environments like cities. These examples are not abstract ideas or lab tests. They’re active features helping ourcustomers run leaner, smarter fleets today.

For micromobility operators, Vision AI reduces complaints and ensures regulatory compliance. For car rental providers, Precision AI saves hours of staff time and improves trust. And for both, Prediction AI improves margins by making sure vehicles are where users need them.

What’s up next?

These are just the first steps. AI in mobility will continue to expand with smarter pricing engines, voice-based support, predictive maintenance, and more. But the examples above already prove that even small AI integrations can bring major improvements.

At ATOM Mobility, we continue building these tools directly into our platform so that operators don’t need to develop them in-house. If you want to see how these AI-powered features work in action, get in touch with our team.

AI in shared mobility is not about replacing people. It’s about giving operators better tools to run faster, smarter, and more efficient services.