What Status, Platform, Power, and Hibernate Mean on The Meddin Bike-sharing World Map

The Meddin Bike-sharing World Map records each bike-share service with a set of structured fields, and four of them carry most of the operational meaning: Status tells you whether the service is currently running, Platform names the technology provider behind the system, Power relates to how the fleet is powered (including e-bike support), and Hibernate shows the months a service typically suspends operations for the season. These fields appear on individual service entries and in the submission form used to add or correct a service, so understanding them helps you read the map accurately and report changes correctly.

Status

Status describes the current operating state of a service. In practice it distinguishes a service that is running from one that is not — for example, a system that has closed, been suspended, or been replaced.

Because the map tracks services over time, Status is the field to check first when a city looks unfamiliar or a system you remember no longer appears active. If a service has been replaced, the entry also carries a Replaced by field, which points to the successor system.

Platform

Platform refers to the technology provider — the company or system that supplies the bikes, docks, app, or backend for the service. Two cities can look similar on the map but run on entirely different platforms, which affects how you register, unlock a bike, and pay.

When you submit an update, Platform is one of the fields you can correct, so it is worth checking the operator's own materials before reporting a change.

Power

Power relates to how the service's vehicles are powered. The map's service type explicitly covers "bikes including pedelecs and cargo bikes," so Power is the field that separates a purely pedal-powered fleet from one that includes e-bikes (pedelecs). If you are looking for electric assistance in a city, Power is the field to inspect rather than assuming from the city name alone.

Hibernate

Hibernate captures seasonality. Each service entry can record a Typical Hibernate Start Month and Typical Hibernate End Month — the months when the system is normally taken out of service and when it typically returns.

This matters in cities with harsh winters or monsoon seasons, where a system may be fully operational for part of the year and dormant for the rest. A service showing a hibernate window is not necessarily closed; it may simply be out of season.

The fields together

Related fields worth knowing

The same entry structure includes several companion fields that clarify the four above:

• Replaced by — the system that took over when a service ended.
• Operator — the company running the service day to day, which may differ from the Platform provider.
• Equipment — the hardware in use.
• Website — the service's own site, useful for confirming current details.
• BSM ID — the map's internal identifier for the service.

Using these fields when you report an update

The map accepts submissions for missing services and for corrections to existing entries. The submission form asks for the same categories described above, including Type, Typical Hibernate Start Month, Typical Hibernate End Month, Platform, Replaced by, Operator, Equipment, Website, and BSM ID, plus a comments field.

If you are reporting a change, filling in Platform, Power-related type details, and the hibernate months accurately is what makes the entry useful to other readers — a vague note that "something changed" cannot be placed on the map. The site states that all submissions are read, and asks for an email address if you want a reply.