Ride-sharing

The Netherlands – Dutch bike manufacturer Vanmoof has teamed up with peer-to-peer sharing platform Spinlister on a smart cycle that makes lending easier than ever.

• Spinlister’s app connects renters with owners across cities around the world
• The smart bicycle makes securing and tracking your ride with Spinlister seamless, and the collaboration is working on a way to subsidise owners who use the platform

Vanmoof’s smart bike, to be launched in Portland later this year, is designed to work with Spinlister’s mobile app, a decentralised product-sharing platform that connects people looking for a bike, surfboard or skiwear to rent from owners in cities around the world. A Bluetooth lock, GPS chip, in-built phone charger and digital speedometer combine to communicate with the smartphone app to ensure the bicycle remains mobile for longer.

The partnership encourages Vanmoof owners to use the Spinlister platform to pay off the cost of their bike, and plans to ‘subsidise and finance bicycles to allow users to pay the [cost of] the bicycles back through rental revenue over time’.

The Big Picture: The Sharing Economy is showing how decentralised platforms can provide opportunities for discovery and redistribution of resources like never before. Check out our analysis of this rapidly innovating industry here.