Shared e-bike provider Pick-e-Bike has launched a feature that will allow its S-pedelecs to be ridden as regular electric bikes - through its app, bikes are transformed from 45km/h S-pedelecs into 25km/h limited regular e-bikes.
The 'Speed-Setting' feature will make the Swiss bike share scheme accessible to riders aged 16 and over - and means users no longer need a driving licence to ride, reports micromobilitybiz (MMB).
Adrian Houriet, head of parking at Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), said the pilot project - based in Basel, Switzerland, in cooperation with the Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) - detects whether someone is registered with or without a driving licence and will then adjust the bike's maximum speed from 45km/h to 25km/h via remote access.
To register, riders simply install the Pick-e-Bike app on their phone, and they will be automatically activated for Speed-Setting if they upload their identity card instead of a driving licence.
The solution is reportedly a “world first”.
In Switzerland, S-pedelecs may only be ridden by those aged 14 and over with an M driving licence, and users must have insurance and wear helmets.
Pick-e-Bike says helmets are compulsory on all its vehicles, for all speed modes.
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Part of Baselland Transport (BLT), the Pick-e-Bike app is developed by shared micromobility platform ElectricFeel. Its software comes in two parts - the app for riders to rent vehicles, and the operating system for the Pick-e-Bike team to manage the fleet, onboard riders, and maintain vehicles.
Pick-e-Bike now has a fleet of over 330 e-bikes in Basel, Switzerland, with 21,000 signed-up riders, and says it has provided more than 700,000km of emissions-free travel.
Andreas Buttiker, CEO at BLT, said: “If everyone has a car, then the city is done. Shared, electric, eco-friendly mobility is the future.”
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