What Types of Bike-Sharing Services Are Included on The Meddin Bike-sharing World Map?

The Meddin Bike-sharing World Map covers short-term bicycle rentals that are available at a network of unattended locations. In practice, that means the map is built around services a rider can pick up and drop off without staff on site — the defining feature of bike-sharing as the project uses the term. It is not a directory of every place you can rent a bike.

The core inclusion rule

The site states the scope directly: it maps "the world's bikeshare services (short-term bicycle rentals available at a network of unattended locations)." Two conditions have to hold at the same time:

• Short-term rental — the service is built for temporary use, not long-term leasing or ownership.
• Unattended network — bikes are distributed across multiple locations that operate without staff, so a rider can access them on their own.

A staffed rental shop that hands you a bike during opening hours does not meet the second condition, even if the rental itself is short-term.

Vehicle types that count

The submission form lists the vehicle categories the map tracks:

So the map is not limited to classic pedal bicycles. Electric-assist bikes and cargo bikes are treated as valid bike-sharing vehicles when they are offered through the same short-term, unattended network model.

Station-based and hub-based services

The form describes qualifying services as those "in stations/hubs." This means the map accommodates both docked systems, where bikes are locked into physical stations, and hub-based systems, where pick-up and drop-off are concentrated at designated points rather than anywhere on the street.

What the map does not cover

The unattended-location requirement is the main filter. Services that depend on staffed counters, guided rentals, or tourist rental desks fall outside the scope, because they are not part of an unattended network. The map is also specifically about shared fleets rather than peer-to-peer or individual bike rental listings.

Why the distinction matters

If you are checking whether a city's service belongs on the map, the test is straightforward: can a rider rent short-term and complete the transaction at an unattended location within a network? If yes, it fits — whether the fleet is pedal bikes, pedelecs, or cargo bikes, and whether it uses stations or hubs. If access requires staff or falls outside a shared network, it does not.