Could Spinlister Become the “Airbnb for Bikes”?

• September 12, 2012

by Shilpi Paul

Would you bike more if you could borrow a stranger’s nearby ride? Does your bike spend hours sitting around, when it could be out making money for you?

Spinlister is a new website that aims to connect unused bikes with eager riders willing to pay by the hour. Bikes can come from either individual bike owners or bike shops.

The start-up is billing itself as the “Airbnb of Bikes” and has a similar model to RelayRides, which allows people to rent cars from their neighbors.

To start the process, bike owners upload photos and provide a few details (about gears and size, for instance). Once the bikes are up on the website, interested renters can browse through the offerings and make a request through a messaging system similar to Airbnb’s. The owner and the renter work out the details and schedule a time to make the exchange. Once the renter picks up the bike, they are responsible for its safety. Reviews are encouraged for both the bikes and the renters.

Spinlister has been active for a couple months and plans to release a mobile app soon. They are also allowing users to connect to the site via Facebook, making for an easy, one-click process.

Of course, with our plethora of Capitol Bikeshare stations, DC is probably not the ideal market for the service. Capitol Bikeshare has the added benefit of allowing spontaneous trips quite easily, compared to Spinlister’s lengthy communication process.

Perhaps Spinlister can find an audience in NYC, where eager riders have been long awaiting their version of bike share.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/could_spinlister_become_the_airbnb_for_bikes/6014