YoBike Pulls Out of Southampton

Yobike, a UK-based dockless bikeshare operator, has pulled out of Southampton, citing vandalism, following an announcement in mid-August. Their app shows the Southampton operating area remaining, but with just one bike nominally available. The service launched in September 2017.

The late summer seems to be a time of reckoning for dockless bikeshares in the UK, as the long vacation and warm weather encourage both high usage or, for poorly used systems, high vandalism rates. Yobike complained of vandalism problems in August last year.

The system reported 32000 rides in its first 11 months. It launched with a reported 300 bikes. This would suggest a rate of just 0.3 t/b/d (trips per bike per day). At launch they planned to eventually increase to 700 bikes. However, a February 2019 snapshot revealed just 33 bikes available.

Yobike remains operating in Bristol (below), with approximately 360 bikes available for hire currently. They reported around 300 trips (1 t/b/d) in the week after launch in May 2017. In June 2017 they reported 800 bikes and 1800 journeys/day but also vandalism issues. In March 2018 it reported 1000 bikes and 1500 journeys/day. They operate at £1/hour with a 50p discount for starting a journey out-of-zone:

Yobike Bristol	Casual	Annual Member
Membership Fee	£0	£39 (£29 for students)
Start Fee	£0	£0
Usage Fee	£1/hour, £5 max/day	£1/hour, £5 max/day
Usage Credit	N/A	2 x 1-hour rides/day
Out-of-Hub End Fee	£5+	£5+
Out-of-Hub Start Credit	50p	50p

Half-year memberships are also available. Maximum journey 24 hours.