RTA and Careem launch Phase II of bike rental service in Dubai

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Careem launched Phase II of its bike rental service (bike-share) programme by adding 950 pedal-assisted e-bikes (bikes operated by pedals and kinetic energy), and 95 stations.

It therefore takes the the total number of these bikes in Dubai to 1,750 bikes spread across 175 stations. The multi-stage initiative aims to deploy 3,500 bikes at 350 docking stations across Dubai.

The new stations will be introduced at key areas which will include the new cycling track at Jumeirah Beach, Al Safa, Dubai Canal, Dubai Marina, Al Mamzar, Al Satwa, Jumeirah 1, Al Khwaneej, Al Jaffliya, Business Bay, Dubai Internet City, and Jumeirah Lakes Towers.

More stations will be added in various districts during the upcoming expansion. Careem Bikes has reportedly completed 1,592 million trips as of February 2022, according to Dubai Media Office.

.@rta_dubai & @careem launch Phase II of bike rental service, with a total number of 1,750 bikes at 175 stations in #Dubai https://t.co/cIG6aPMtBE pic.twitter.com/zZHE2N8wrD

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) March 6, 2022

“The bike-rental service advances the sustainability of Dubai and encourages residents and tourists to practice cycling on the 527 km long cycling tracks spread all over Dubai. It also supports RTA’s effort in boosting the integration of mass transit means by promoting flexible car-free mobility trips, and safely integrating them with daily means of transportation. Thus, it serves the overall objective of reducing the use of private vehicles and switching to the use of other more sustainable means of transportation,” said Mattar Al Tayer, director-general, chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the RTA.

Careem Bike became the first bike-sharing scheme in the Middle East following Careem’s acquisition of the local company Cyacle. “We are expanding Careem Bike in response to the incredible demand we have seen for micro-mobility transport across the UAE. Careem Bike is doubling in size to become the first completely pedal-assisted docked bike-share initiative in the world,” said Bassel Al-Nahlaoui, managing director of Mobility at Careem.

The RTA intends to further extend the total length of cycling tracks in the emirate to 739km by 2026. RTA has set a speed limit of 30kph for tracks dedicated to cyclists. Tracks in urban areas dedicated to cyclists or shared with pedestrians have a speed limit of 20kph.

In October, Dubai Municipality has completed the first phase of a project to create a 50km mountain bike track in the Mushrif National Park. The first phase of the project, which has been completed, spans 20km (green and blue track). The second phase will add another 30km to the project (red track).

Read: Dubai Municipality completes first phase of 50km mountain-bike track in Mushrif National Park