Insights and news from the ATOM Mobility team

What if ordering a taxi was as easy as booking a room or clicking “Reserve table” on a website?

Meet Web-booker - a lightweight ride-hail booking widget that lets users request a cab directly from a website, without installing or opening the mobile app.
Perfect for hotels, business centers, event venues, airports, and corporate partners.

👉 Live demo: https://app.atommobility.com/taxi-widget

What is Web-booker?

Web-booker is a browser-based ride-hail widget that operators can embed or link to from any website.
The booking happens on the web, but the ride is fully synchronized with the mobile app and operator dashboard.

How it works (simple by design)

‍
No redirects. No app-store friction. No lost users.

• Client places a button or link on their website
• Clicking it opens a new window with the ride-hail widget
• The widget is branded, localized, and connected directly to the operator’s system
• Booking instantly appears in the dashboard and mobile app

Key capabilities operators care about

🎨 Branded & consistent

• Widget color automatically matches the client’s app branding
• Feels like a natural extension of the operator’s ecosystem
• Fully responsive and optimized for mobile browsers, so users can book a ride directly from their phone without installing the app

📱 App growth built in

• QR code and App Store / Google Play links shown directly in the widget
• Smooth upgrade path from web → app

⏱️ Booking flexibility

• Users can request a ride immediately or schedule a ride for a future date and time
• Works the same way across web, mobile browser, and app
• Scheduled bookings are fully synchronized with the operator dashboard and mobile app

🔄 Fully synced ecosystem

• Country code auto-selected based on user location
• Book via web → see the ride in the app (same user credentials)
• Dashboard receives booking data instantly
• Every booking is tagged with Source:
  - App
  - Web (dashboard bookings)
  - Booker (website widget)
  - API

🔐 Clean & secure session handling

• User is logged out automatically when leaving the page
• No persistent browser sessions

💵 Payments logic

• New users: cash only
• Existing users: can choose saved payment methods
• If cash is not enabled → clear message prompts booking via the app

This keeps fraud low while preserving conversion.

✅ Default rollout

• Enabled by default for all ride-hail merchants
• No extra setup required
• Operators decide where and how to use it (hotel partners, landing pages, QR posters, etc.)

Why this matters in practice

Web-booker addresses one of the most common friction points in ride-hailing: users who need a ride now but are not willing to download an app first. By allowing bookings directly from a website, operators can capture high-intent demand at the exact moment it occurs - whether that is on a hotel website, an event page, or a partner landing page.

At the same time, Web-booker makes partnerships with hotels and venues significantly easier. Instead of complex integrations or manual ordering flows, partners can simply place a button or link and immediately enable ride ordering for their guests. Importantly, this approach does not block long-term app growth. The booking flow still promotes the mobile app through QR codes and store links, allowing operators to convert web users into app users over time - without forcing the install upfront.

Web-booker is not designed to replace the mobile app. It extends the acquisition funnel by adding a low-friction entry point, while keeping all bookings fully synchronized with the operator’s app and dashboard.

👉 Try the demo
https://app.atommobility.com/taxi-widget

Want to explore a ride-hail or taxi solution for your business - or migrate to a more flexible platform? Visit: https://www.atommobility.com/products/ride-hailing

Bike-sharing apps are reshaping urban mobility. What began as a practical way to get around without owning a bike is now part of a bigger shift toward sustainable transport. 

These services are doing more than replacing short car trips. They help cities cut emissions, reduce congestion, improve health, and connect better with public transport. 

As more cities rethink how people move, bike sharing continues to grow as one of the fastest and most affordable tools to support this change.

Why bike sharing is important

Bike-sharing services now operate in over 150 European cities, with more than 438,000 bikes in circulation. These systems help prevent around 46,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually and reduce reliance on private cars in dense urban areas. They also improve air quality, lower noise levels, and make cities more pleasant to live in.

A recent study by EIT Urban Mobility and Cycling Industries Europe, carried out by EY, found that bike-sharing services generate around €305 million in annual benefits across Europe. This includes reduced emissions, lower healthcare costs, time saved from less congestion, and broader access to jobs and services.

For cities, the numbers speak for themselves: every euro invested yields a 10% annual return, generating €1.10 in positive externalities. By 2030, these benefits could triple to €1 billion if bike-sharing is prioritized.

Connecting with public transport

Bike sharing works best when it fits into the wider transport system. Most car trips that bike sharing replaces are short and often happen when public transport doesn’t quite reach the destination. That last kilometer between a bus stop and your home or office can be enough to make people choose the car instead.

Placing shared bikes near metro stations, tram stops, or bus terminals makes it easier for people to leave their cars behind. This “last-mile” connection helps more people use public transport for the long part of their trip and hop on a bike for the short part. Over time, that encourages more consistent use of both bikes and transit.

In cities where bike sharing is integrated into travel passes or mobility platforms, users can combine modes in a single journey. That flexibility supports wider access and makes shared bikes part of everyday mobility, not just something used occasionally.

What the app brings to the experience

The digital experience behind bike sharing is a big part of why it works. People can check availability, unlock a bike, pay, and end their trip – all in one app. This makes it quick, simple, and consistent.

Good bike-sharing apps also offer:

• Real-time vehicle status
• Contactless ID verification and onboarding
• Support for short trips and subscriptions
• Usage history and cost tracking
• Optional features like carbon savings or route suggestions

When users don’t need to think twice about how the system works, they’re more likely to build regular habits around it. That habit shift is what makes a long-term difference for both users and cities.

Wider city-level benefits

Bike sharing isn’t just a transport service. It helps cities meet public goals – cleaner air, lower traffic, healthier residents, and better access to services. When someone chooses a bike instead of a car, it reduces the demand for fuel, parking, and space on the road.

The €305 million annual benefit includes health savings due to increased physical activity, avoided emissions, time gained from reduced congestion, and the creation of jobs tied to fleet operations. Many bike-sharing schemes also improve equity by giving people access to mobility in areas that are underserved by public transport or where car ownership isn’t affordable.

Shared bikes are especially useful in mid-sized cities where distances are manageable and car traffic still dominates. With the right policy support, even small fleets can have a noticeable impact on mobility patterns and public health.

What makes a system work well

Not every bike-sharing system succeeds. To be reliable and scalable, a few things must work together:

• Safe, protected bike lanes
• Well-placed stations near high-demand areas
• Bikes that are easy to maintain and manage
• Operators that monitor usage and shift bikes to where they’re needed
• City policies that support cycling and reduce reliance on cars

Successful systems often grow in partnership with city governments, public transport agencies, and private operators who bring technology, logistics, and know-how.

The role of software and operations

Reliable software is what keeps all parts of the system connected. From unlocking a bike to seeing usage trends across the city, operators need tools that are stable, flexible, and easy to manage. For those launching or scaling a fleet, platforms like ATOM Mobility offer ready-made solutions that handle booking, payments, ID checks, live tracking, and fleet control in one place.

The platform supports both electric and mechanical bikes, offers branded apps, and integrates with smart locks or IoT modules for remote vehicle access. It also lets operators adjust pricing, monitor vehicle health, and manage customer support in real time. That means smaller teams can launch faster and scale smarter, without having to build every tool from scratch.

A small change with a big effect

Bike sharing won’t replace all car trips, but even a small shift makes a difference. A few short rides per week can reduce emissions, improve fitness, and save time spent in traffic. When these trips are supported by good infrastructure, public awareness, and seamless apps, the impact grows.

As cities continue to prioritise sustainability, shared micromobility will play a bigger role in helping people move in cleaner, healthier, and more flexible ways. With the right technology and planning, bike sharing becomes more than a service – it becomes a habit that supports better cities for everyone.

📊 One of the most requested features in ATOM Mobility is finally live. Meet Popular route heatmap - a new analytics layer that shows which streets and areas your riders actually use most, based on real ride data over time.

Until now, operators could see where rides start and end. Now you can see how people move in between.

Why it matters?

With Popular Route Heatmap, operators can:

🚲 Optimize vehicle placement based on real rider behavior

🏙️ Support discussions with municipalities using clear, visual usage data

📍 Identify missing infrastructure where demand already exists

📊 Make smarter, data-backed operational decisions

The feature was the #1 most upvoted idea on our merchant suggestion platform for years - and we’re excited to finally ship it.

How to use it
Go to Analytics → Heatmaps
Select heatmap type Popular routes
Filter by time period and city
Zoom in to see the busiest routes your riders take

Data availability: Popular route data is available from November 1, 2025 and will continue accumulating going forward.
Inspired by how athletes analyze movement patterns with Strava - now applied to shared mobility operations.

Running a rental or sharing business today means delivering a smooth, digital-first experience. Whether you rent cars, bikes, scooters or other vehicles – users expect to book online, pay, verify identity if needed, unlock a vehicle, and ride or drive without extra friction. 

To make that happen reliably, you need good vehicle rental software or platform backing your service. Below are some successful examples of apps and platforms that show how this works and what is possible.

Donkey Republic 

Operates in several European cities offering shared bikes and e‑bikes. Users find a bike in the app, unlock it with a smartphone, ride, then park at a designated drop‑off spot and end the rental. Pay‑as‑you‑go, daily rates or memberships are all handled via the app. 

MOBY Bikes 

Targets electric bicycles and e‑cargo bikes across certain regions, with a “tap‑and‑ride” system that uses its proprietary app for booking, unlocking, and rental management. The platform supports mixed-use fleets (shared bikes, cargo bikes, delivery fleet, even B2B rentals), which illustrates flexibility – useful for operators exploring different business models beyond simple consumer rentals. 

Forest

It is a dockless e‑bike sharing operator in London. It runs a large fleet and offers bike‑sharing through a mobile app. The service demonstrates how a relatively simple, dockless rental model can scale at urban level using app‑based rentals, unlocking, and flexible parking. 

These examples show how micromobility‑focused services already rely on booking, payment, unlocking and fleet management tech – the same core capabilities needed by any modern vehicle rental business.

What makes these apps work – and what to borrow from them

From these operators you can observe several useful traits that a good rental/sharing software should provide:

• Seamless user journey: crate account in seconds → search → book → unlock → ride/drive → return. Users don’t need paper contracts or to meet staff to get a vehicle.‍
• Flexible pricing & rental models: per-minute, hourly, daily, subscription, memberships – enables both occasional users and frequent commuters.‍
• Smart access control and vehicle tracking: unlocking via app or smart lock, GPS tracking, drop‑off in defined zones or docking stations, helps maintain order, reduce theft, and support dockless models.‍
• Support for different vehicle types: from bikes to e‑bikes and cargo bikes – showing that underlying software can be agnostic to vehicle type, useful if you plan a mixed fleet.‍
• Scalable fleet operations and maintenance: availability updates, booking history, maintenance logs, geofencing or parking zones – these help manage many vehicles across zones without chaos.

These are exactly the kinds of features you need when you move from small‑scale operation to proper fleet business.

Why to choose ATOM Mobility

If you plan to just test the market or to operate a larger and more complex fleet - multiple vehicle types, multiple cities, or advanced operational requirements - a full-stack platform like ATOM Mobility becomes essential.

ATOM Mobility is designed for operators who need full control over the entire mobility operation: booking flows, unlocking logic, payments, KYC/ID verification, backend administration, fleet analytics, dynamic pricing, and multi-modal rentals across cars, scooters, bikes, and more.

The platform provides a unified backend that supports cars, scooters, e-bikes, mopeds, and additional vehicle types within a single system. Operators can manage bookings, payments, users, smart locks or connected vehicles, fleet health, and city-level scaling without fragmenting their tech stack as the business grows.

This approach offers far greater flexibility than single-vehicle or bike-only solutions and removes the need to migrate systems when expanding into new vehicle categories or markets. Check out the full service here.

How to choose: when to use franchising vs full platform

Join a franchising when you:

- prefer operating under an established brand
- value a clear operational playbook and central support
- want simpler marketing thanks to brand recognition
- are comfortable with limited control over technology and product decisions
- accept franchise fees or revenue sharing in exchange for convenience
- don’t need heavy customization or experimentation

Use a full platform (like ATOM Mobility) when you:

- aim to manage a larger, mixed fleet (cars, scooters, bikes, e-bikes)
- need full backend control (admin, analytics, pricing, reporting)
- require payments, KYC/ID verification, and automation built in
- want freedom to customize booking flows, pricing, and partnerships
- plan to scale across cities or add new vehicle types over time
- prioritise brand ownership and customer relationship control
- want no revenue sharing or franchise fees

There isn’t a one‑size‑fits‑all solution 

For simple bike or e-bike fleets, the technology barrier is already low. Joining a franchise can be a fast way to get operations running with minimal setup.

However, operators with long-term ambitions - expanding into multiple vehicle types, scaling across locations, or maintaining consistent service quality - typically outgrow narrow tools. In those cases, a full-stack platform like ATOM Mobility offers the flexibility and control needed to support growth without rebuilding the tech foundation later.

Some operators start small and migrate as complexity increases. Others choose to build on a full platform from day one to avoid future transitions. The right choice depends on how clearly you define your growth path, desired level of control, and operational complexity from the start.