I went to some Taiwan’s tourist attractions using “oBike” in November 2017. It was really convenient and great value for money.
I’d like to introduce how to use it with my experience from that time.
Registration and Payment
You can register oBike in your home country.
Open the app and tap the “UNLOCK” button. After you read the User’s Guide, choose “Sign up” or “Log in with Facebook” button.
When you finish the registration,
tap the menu mark at the upper left ⇒ “My Wallet” ⇒ “My Payment”, then enter your card information.
After that, you need to pay a deposit. But you might not need to pay it, because it seems that a deposit depends on the registration time or your home country.
I registered obike and paid the deposit in Japan on the day before departure and surprisingly got a free ride worth ＄3 USD.
Let’s ride obike
You need to turn on the location information and bluetooth on your device.
When you start the app, your mobile phone will locate and display the place of the bicycles. You should find it easy then.
Please don’t forget to check its brakes, handlebar, light and tires to know whether the bicycle is working perfectly well.
Tap the “UNLOCK” button of your mobile phone, then get close to the QR code on the center part of the handlebar or rear fender.
When it scans the QR code, the bicycle will be unlocked.
Let’s ride obike !
In Taiwan, bicycle rider usually drives on the right side of the road.
I went from Ximending near my hotel to Longshan Temple, Presidential Office Building and Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall while seeing the townscape slowly.
The weather that day was not fine, but warm. I felt great riding on the bicycle.
One hundred minutes have passed since I left, I returned it around Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.
There were many public parking spaces around here.
You need to lock it manually when you return.
After seeing this hall and a short break, I left.
We would appreciate it if there are cycling lanes, because a lot of cars and motorbikes run in Taiwan. So it’s quite dangerous.
I went to Daan Forest Park and Taipei 101 using a different bicycle that has little fat tires like mountain bike.
It was comfortable.
If there are no public spaces near your destination, you need to park without illegal parking.
After you park it manually, your mobile phone will be displayed something like this.
You will see the rental fee, duration, distance and calories. On the first day of riding, it’s free.
Next day, this was the display after I rode it for 11 minutes.
It displayed a balance of ＄2.9 USD under ＄0.1 USD. The rental fee was covered by the ＄3 USD.
It seems that the rental fee depends on the country. I think it’s ＄0.1 USD per 15 minutes in Taiwan.
You should try it, be careful and enjoy.
