Donkey Republic is a bike rental company. Users can download the Donkey Republic app on a smartphone, find the nearest available Donkey Bike and rent it in the app. The user can rent up to 5 bikes, for short or long rental periods. The bikes can be unlocked with the app through a Bluetooth connection and users can take the bikes wherever they like and lock/unlock multiple times. At the end of the rental, the user returns the bicycle to one of the designated drop-off locations, which helps the next riders find the bikes too.
Category: Digital vehicle sharing services/platforms
Developer: Donkey Republic IVS
Main function: Digital vehicle sharing service/platform
What is the main sub-function of the service/product: Bike sharing
Target group(s): General public/other
Countries/cities of operation: 71 Cities in Europe, in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK.
Technologies needed to use the service:
- Smartphone or tablet that is Bluetooth enabled and has a mobile internet connection
Is there a non-digital way to use this service or product? No
Why is this a good example?
| Reason(s) | Users pay per minute of rental. The cost per minute reduces as the session gets longer. |
| More details | The users pay at the end of a session for the length of the rental period. The cost per minute reduces as the session gets longer. Users can see the total cost of their ongoing rental(s) at all times at the top of their screens. This provides potentially useful information. |
| Tags | Cost |
| Reason(s) | The application is available in multiple countries, languages and currencies. |
| More details | The service is available in several European countries. This allows users to keep using the application and the Donkey Republic services when they are travelling abroad. This reduces the need to download new applications or discover new services. |
| Tags | International Aspects |
| Reason(s) | Clear indication of the real-time location of the user and available bicycles |
| More details | Once signed in, the app shows users a map with a circle denoting their own location and the real-time locations of available nearby bicycles. This makes it clear whether there is an available bicycle nearby or not. In addition, the distance to each bicycle is also displayed on the map. |
| Tags | Functionality-Real-time information |
| Reason(s) | Option to view the map in different formats when searching for an available bicycle on the map |
| More details | The application allows users to change the map view to a satellite view. This increases the possibility that people will be able to understand and interpret the map. |
| Tags | Usability-Customisation |
| Reason(s) | Help facilities |
| More details | The application has a “How it works” section for those having questions with the booking, payment or unlocking process of the bike; or those with general questions about the service. In addition, they have a built-in help centre with a long list of frequently asked questions. If the user still has questions left, they can contact the people from Donkey Republic directly by mail or phone or through the chat function. |
| Tags | Usability-Help facilities |
| Reason(s) | Integration with a Facebook account |
| More details | Instead of creating a separate account, users can sign in with a Facebook account. This means that personal details do not have to be entered again. |
| Tags | Usability-User registration |
If you would like to know more about why this product is part of this catalogue or what aspects of this example are specifically appropriate, click here to view the full DIGNITY Interactive Catalogue, which contains further information.
