Lyft Urban Solutions’s E-bike technology is headed to Dubai!

Bike-share in the desert? Seems improbable — and kind of sweaty — but together with the Middle East’s top ride-hailing company Careem, and Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), we’re making it happen. Starting in 2020, the Emirate will be home to Careem Bike, the region's first large-scale electric bike-share scheme. It will feature 3,500 of our E-FIT bikes, as well as 350 smart stations. The e-bikes have an autonomy range of up to 70 km and a central motor that propels rides up to 25 km/h.

Making way for the bike

Dubai’s taken steps to improve mobility infrastructure in recent years through a network of cycling lanes, with plans to more than double these dedicated thoroughfares by 2030. We think the E-FIT is the perfect vehicle to help the city’s residents and visitors take advantage of these efforts. While Dubai’s topography is relatively flat, the e-bike will give riders a boost when temperatures soar, reducing the amount of energy required to pedal.  

Safe, Reliable and Easy-to-Use

Thanks to our e-charging stations neither riders nor operators need to worry about keeping the battery powered up. That’s because the bike charges directly in the dock: once a rider is done with their e-bike, they simply check it in and walk away. And when a battery falls below a certain threshold, the bike stays locked in its smart dock until it is sufficiently charged. Then it is automatically released and put back into circulation.   

Operators always have a handle about what’s going on with their bike-share system: Our built-in smart tech transmits data about battery, bike and network health to operators who can monitor their bike-share through a bespoke management platform. Both the smart stations and our e-bikes have been thoroughly tested and hold multiple safety certifications. 

We can’t wait for Careem Bike to get off the ground. Make sure to follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, where we’ll be sharing photos and behind the scenes of the deployment in the months to come!