Starting today, Google Maps can show you directions using rented bikes from docked bike sharing schemes like Citi Bike in New York or Santander Cycles in London. It works by giving walking directions to get to a nearby pier, cycling directions to get from one pier to another, and finally walking directions once again to get from the pier to your destination. It’s similar to what Google started offering for Lime’s dockless scooters and bikes in 2018, but for the many attached bike rental schemes that are available in cities around the world.
The new functionality comes when cities promote cycling as a means for people to move in an environmentally friendly and socially distant way during the COVID-19 pandemic. Google says that since February, it has seen a 69 percent increase in the number of requests for bike directions made through Maps, and that it had a record number of requests last month. Cycle sharing schemes are a convenient alternative to owning your own bike.
The new cycle sharing route functionality builds on Google Maps’ existing relationship with Ito World allowing you to find available bikes for use.
Google says the feature will be rolled out over the next few weeks in 10 cities: Chicago; New York; the San Francisco Bay Area; Washington DC; London; Mexico City; Montreal Rio de Janeiro; Sao Paulo; and Taipei and New Taipei City, with more cities to be added in the coming months.
