Call a Bike

__NOTOC__Call a Bike is a bike hire system run by Deutsche Bahn in several German cities, which uses a system of authentication codes to automatically lock and unlock bikes.

Usage

To find the bikes one has to search at the cross roads in the central areas of the towns or use location-based services [ [http://www.golem.de/0706/52998.html Qiro will unentbehrlicher mobiler Helfer sein - Golem.de ] ] on modern cell phones to find them. A simple call to the customer service center to locate the callbikes is not on offer anymore.

The cost is 8 Euro cent per minute; holders of a BahnCard get a reduced rate of 6 cent per minute; there are also reduced rates for 24 hours or a week of use. In Stuttgart the first half hour of use is free.

Technology

Comprised of an electronic wheel lock and a cable lock, all controlled by embedded microcontroller with touchscreen LCD display. A set of 1024 pregenerated lock/unlock codes are unique to each bike and stored in memory. [ [http://www.ccc.de/hackabike/ Hack a Bike - keep on hacking in a free world! ] ]

Coverage

Used in Berlin, Frankfurt, Cologne, Stuttgart, Munich, Karlsruhe. Arlington, Virginia is preparing the first Call a Bike system in the United States, which should begin operation in late 2008 or early 2009.

References

External links

* [http://www.callabike-interaktiv.de/kundenbuchung/process.php?proc=english&f=500&key=d77b3782346423c9f6ea41d27f412b00...00000 Official website, in English]
* [http://www.ccc.de/hackabike/ CCC article on the technical details of the system]
* [http://blip.tv/file/330914 Rental process (Video)]