Social Bicycles

Bike Share Technology Platformsocialbicycles.com

Social Bicycles (MobilityCloud Inc.) provides a dockless smart-bike platform with on-board GPS, GSM, and locking technology, serving municipalities, universities, hospitals, and developers across roughly 40 markets and 15,000 bicycles.

Company typePrivate
Founded2011
HeadquartersNew York, United States
Headcount11–50
GTM typeB2B and B2C
OfferingSoftware

What Social Bicycles does

Social Bicycles, legally operated by MobilityCloud Inc., is a New York-based bike share technology provider that sells a smart-bike platform to municipalities, universities, hospitals, real-estate developers, and local entrepreneurs. Founded in 2011 by Ryan Rzepecki, the company's core differentiator is a proprietary smart-bike architecture in which GPS, GSM, RFID, and NFC electronics, a chainless shaft-drive transmission, an integrated steel U-lock, and solar/dynamo-powered lighting are built into each custom bicycle rather than concentrated at fixed docking stations. Stations are defined as GPS geofences around standard bike racks supplied by the company, reducing station-infrastructure cost from roughly $900 per dock in conventional systems to $175 per rack.

The platform is exposed to end users via iOS and Android mobile apps, a web application, and a documented REST API with OAuth 2 authentication, supporting self-serve sign-up, reservations, trip history, billing, and social sharing. Operators run local networks under the Social Bicycles umbrella, and consumers can access multiple networks (e.g., Long Beach CA Bikeshare, Reddy Bikeshare, PeaceHealth Rides, Hamilton Bike Share) through a single account. Revenue mechanics blend subscription memberships (typically $10–$40 per month), pay-as-you-go usage fees ($6–$11.40/hour), operator-configurable out-of-hub locking fees, sponsorship/advertising placements, and a bike bounty credit system that incentivizes rebalancing.

Go-to-market combines an enterprise field-sales motion for RFP-driven municipal and university contracts with a self-serve consumer funnel through the mobile and web apps. The company holds PCI DSS payment compliance through its third-party processors (Stripe, Braintree/PayPal), integrates an SSO option for institutional customers such as McMaster University, and operates a companion Social Cyclist app for community engagement. At the time of available reporting, the company manages roughly 15,000 bikes across 40 markets with cumulative trips exceeding 5 million.

Social Bicycles firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Social Bicycles
Legal name: MobilityCloud Inc.
Website: https://socialbicycles.com
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2011
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 11–50 employees
Short description: Social Bicycles (MobilityCloud Inc.) provides a dockless smart-bike platform with on-board GPS, GSM, and locking technology, serving municipalities, universities, hospitals, and developers across roughly 40 markets and 15,000 bicycles.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Where Social Bicycles is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: New York
HQ country: United States
HQ region: North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

Social Bicycles business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B and B2C
Offering type: Software
Cost components: Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

Membership Subscriptions: Operators offer monthly, seasonal, and annual membership plans to end users. Members receive daily free riding time with flat per-hour fees thereafter.
Pay-as-you-go Usage: Pro-rated hourly pricing model based on all usage with no free time provided. Users may also be charged an activation fee or nominal monthly access fee.
Sponsorship and Advertising: Sponsors align with bike share provider for branding opportunities through mobile/web applications, branded bikes, station equipment (ad panels, branded racks), and location-based promotions with push notifications.
Bike Bounty Credits: When bikes are left outside hubs, bounties are posted. Users who return bikes to stations collect credits that offset fees or provide future riding credit.
Out-of-hub Locking Fees: Fees charged when users lock bicycles to standard bike racks outside designated hub locations. Fee is customizable by operator to control frequency of out-of-hub lock-ups.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Subscription	Monthly	Hamilton Bike Share - Monthly Member: $20/month subscription with membership fee
Subscription	Monthly	PeaceHealth Rides - Monthly Plan: $15/month
Subscription	Monthly	Long Beach CA Bikeshare - Prepaid Bonus Pass: $120
Subscription	Annual	Reddy Bikeshare - Various employee and general plans
Usage-based	Pay-as-you-go	Usage-based overtime fees after free time

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Social Bicycles product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Social Bicycles (operated by MobilityCloud Inc.) provides a scalable, affordable bike share technology platform built around custom-designed smart-bikes with integrated GPS, GSM, RFID, and NFC technologies that lock to standard bike racks. The platform includes a mobile app, web application, REST API, and supporting hardware (racks, base plates, optional kiosks) for municipalities, universities, and local operators to launch and manage bike share networks serving end-user riders.

Product overview

Social Bicycles is a bike share technology platform operated by MobilityCloud Inc. that provides an affordable and scalable smartbike system. The core offering consists of custom-designed smart-bikes with integrated GPS, GSM, RFID, and NFC technologies that communicate individually with the cloud platform, eliminating the need for expensive dock infrastructure. The platform includes a mobile app (iOS/Android), web platform (app.socialbicycles.com), and API for developer access. Supporting infrastructure includes modular racks, base plates, and optional kiosks. The company also offers the Social Cyclist companion app for community engagement. Users can access multiple bike share networks under a single account. The system differentiates itself through lower costs (approximately half of conventional systems), flexible locking to any bike rack via integrated U-lock, real-time GPS tracking, and daily free-time pricing models.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

Smart-Bikes Custom-designed bicycles built for bike sharing with integrated onboard technology (GPS, GSM, RFID, NFC), shaft-drive transmission, integrated steel U-lock, solar-responsive lighting, puncture-resistant Kevlar tires, and full fenders. Used by bike share operators and end-user riders.
Social Bicycles Mobile App

Companies that use Social Bicycles

Customer profile

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Social Bicycles technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API: Yes
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

Feature6 records

Social Bicycles partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Social Bicycles competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Direct peers

nextbike: nextbike operates bike-share systems in 300+ cities across Europe and the Middle East. Comparable in scale and operator-network model, particularly relevant for SoBi's international expansion ambitions via its global RFP bidding motion.
Superpedestrian (acquired Zagster): Superpedestrian acquired Zagster, a U.S. bike-share operator that ran campus and community programs. Directly comparable to SoBi's university and small-city operator model, and a meaningful competitor in the same RFP pool.
Bird: Bird runs dockless e-scooter and bike-share programs in North America and Europe. Overlaps with SoBi on city bike-share concessions and campus micromobility contracts, particularly for university RFPs.
Lime: Lime operates a global fleet of dockless bikes, e-bikes, and e-scooters across 30+ countries. Competes head-to-head with SoBi in mid-sized cities and on university campuses where Lime's capital and brand awareness are major advantages.
PBSC Urban Solutions: PBSC (Public Bike System Company) supplies Bixi-style docked bike-share hardware and software globally. Closest direct competitor in the bike-share technology provider category, especially for North American and European municipal RFPs.
BCycle (Trek Bicycle): BCycle, owned by Trek, operates docked bike-share systems in 50+ U.S. cities. Directly comparable technology provider with a longer operating history and deeper ties to municipal government customers.
Lyft (Motivate): Lyft acquired Motivate, the largest U.S. bike-share operator running Citi Bike, Divvy, and Ford GoBike. Operates connected bike-share at scale in major metros, directly competing for the same municipal RFPs SoBi targets.

Emerging players

Tier Mobility: Tier operates shared e-scooter and e-bike fleets across European cities and is expanding to the U.S. Comparable operator-network and city partnership model, with stronger financial backing but a narrower geographic footprint than SoBi.
Bolt Mobility: Bolt Mobility runs dockless e-bikes and scooters across U.S. cities, with a focus on underserved communities. Competes in the same small-to-mid-sized city RFP pool and on community-driven bike-share programs.

Broad incumbents

Uber (JUMP bikes): Uber acquired JUMP's dockless e-bike platform and now bundles bike-share with its rideshare app. A broader incumbent leveraging massive capital and a global app to compete in connected bike-share.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Social Bicycles compliance and trust

Trust signal

Compliance1 record

Social Bicycles financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Social Bicycles leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Social Bicycles funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors8 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Social Bicycles M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Social Bicycles

What does Social Bicycles do?

Is Social Bicycles a public or private company?

Social Bicycles is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.

When was Social Bicycles founded?

Social Bicycles was founded in 2011. It employs 11 to 50 people.

Where is Social Bicycles based?

Social Bicycles is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.

How does Social Bicycles make money?

Five revenue lines are on record. Membership Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are pay-as-you-go Usage, sponsorship and Advertising, bike Bounty Credits and out-of-hub Locking Fees.

Who are Social Bicycles's main competitors?

Direct peers on record are nextbike, Superpedestrian (acquired Zagster), Bird, Lime, PBSC Urban Solutions, BCycle (Trek Bicycle) and Lyft (Motivate). Emerging players are Tier Mobility and Bolt Mobility. Uber (JUMP bikes) is listed as a broad incumbent.

Does Social Bicycles have an API?

Yes. Social Bicycles API allows access to all data within a Social Bicycles user account. The API is RESTful and HTTP-based, accessible at https://app.socialbicycles.com/api. All API access is over HTTPS. Data retrieval uses GET requests, data creation uses POST, updates use PUT, and destruction uses DELETE. Two authentication methods are supported: Basic Authentication (deprecated) and OAuth 2 (preferred). All responses are in JSON format. CORS is enabled for AJAX requests. Each application is limited by default to 100 calls per day (UTC based). Developer documentation is at app.socialbicycles.com/developer.