Opportunities and Challenges for Companies in the Bike Sharing Industry Illustrated by the Example of Nextbike Poland

Abstract

One of the directions for sustainable transport development in cities is sharing the means of transport. Amongst the most dynamically developing forms of urban transportation is bike sharing, which has already been implemented in various cities across the globe. This article aims to depict opportunities as well as challenges for the bike sharing industry. Enterprises providing such services are successful, due to, among others, a growing interest of local governments in the development of bike sharing programs, which is often reflected in the financial support for this type of undertaking and the high demand for bicycle-transport in cities. However, this type of business is also exposed to the risk associated with the costs of servicing the system, highly competitive market, changes in the economic situation, and rather unfavourable contracts, to mention a few. This risk is especially high while implementing innovative solutions, as is shown by the example of the MEVO system. Also described in the article are the processes of overcoming the obstacles plaguing the bike sharing business.