1001 Smart Cities
🇩🇪 Dresden

MOBIbike: Dresden's Public Bike-Share Run by nextbike

🤖 AI-generated summary · ◆ 14 sourced claims · 🔎 Last verified

This overview was generated with AI from the public sources listed below and checked against them before publication. It has not had a complete human fact-check — treat it as a starting point and follow the sources.

14 sourced claims on this page, none individually verified yet — turn on “Sources in the text” to see each one.

How this atlas is made · What “last verified” means · What “source-checked” means · The full record behind this page

Dresden's yellow MOBIbikes were rented 2,076,300 times in 2024. Taken to neighbouring Freital, they averaged seven rentals a day, and the town ended its pilot.

Outcome🔄 Ongoing
Evidence🏛️ Officialgrades the sourcing — this entry states no impact figure
what does this mean?The strongest source is the operator's or the city's own reporting — an official report, dataset or press release. It grades who did the looking — not how well the project went. All four grades →
Run bynextbike GmbH, for the Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe (DVB), which runs MOBIbike on behalf of the City of Dresden
Scale🏙️ City-wide
FundingA city system run by the DVB on the city's behalf; riders pay fares or the Plus MOBI add-on (8 euros a month with a Deutschlandticket), and students at TU Dresden paid a 5-euro semester surcharge under the 2021 agreement. The city's payment to the DVB or nextbike is not published.

Part of 1001 Smart Cities — 1,237 documented projects · 🏙️ 8 more in Dresden · 🛴 Shared mobility guide · 🚲 Mobility projects

MOBIbike is Dresden's public bike-share, which the city counts as its own system: since August 2020 the Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe have run it on the city's behalf, with nextbike as the operator named in the city's rules and in the system's live data feed. It started on 17 August 2020 with 1,000 bikes, replacing the earlier sz-bike, and had about 2,000 bikes in July 2025. Holders of a DVB subscription or a Deutschlandticket with the MOBI add-on ride the first 30 minutes free. Stations and bikes are published as a GBFS feed under a CC0 licence. According to the DVB, rentals rose from 780,800 in 2021 to 2,076,300 in 2024. Since August 2025 commercial e-bike and e-scooter providers compete on the same streets.

Live 📅 since 2020

🎓 Lesson

Taking the yellow bikes beyond the city showed how much the system depends on the city it was built for. In a 2025 pilot half-funded by the transport association VVO, Heidenau averaged 16 rentals a day at its 14 stations and kept the scheme; Freital averaged only seven rentals a day, saw little change after its network grew from seven to twelve stations, and ended the pilot at the end of the year. The rental count in Dresden is large and rising, but it measures use; the published figures do not say which journeys the bikes replaced.

🚲 MobilityShared mobilityCyclingOpen dataPublic transport

Sources

↗ Landeshauptstadt Dresden — Multimobil & Sharing (city mobility page)The city's standing page on sharing. It says the municipal MOBIbike system has been run by the DVB on the city's behalf since August 2020, with about 2,000 bikes as of July 2025, and that DVB subscribers and Deutschlandticket holders with the MOBI add-on ride up to 30 minutes free. Its rules table lists nextbike as the current operator, one operator chosen by tender, and no fee because it is a municipal system; it also lists the commercial e-bike and e-scooter providers admitted since August 2025.
↗ TU Dresden — Aus sz-bike wird MOBIbike (14 Aug 2020)University news item on the launch: MOBIbike, run by nextbike and the DVB, replaces sz-bike, doubles the number of bikes in Dresden to 1,000 and starts on Monday 17 August 2020, with bikes available at 14 MOBIpunkte, return streets and a flex zone.
↗ TU Dresden — DVB und TUD-Studierendenrat schließen Vereinbarung über MOBIbike-Nutzung (28 Sep 2021)University news item on the student agreement with the DVB, under which students pay a 5-euro surcharge per semester for 30 free minutes a trip. It quotes the DVB board's one-year figure: the 1,000 yellow bikes were rented almost 800,000 times within the first year.
↗ nextbike GmbH — MOBIbike GBFS feed, system informationMachine-readable system information of the MOBIbike GBFS feed. It names the system MOBIbike, gives nextbike GmbH in Leipzig as operator and sets the licence to CC0-1.0; the feed index lists station information, station status, free-bike status and geofencing zones.
↗ Landeshauptstadt Dresden, DVB and VVO — Mobilität in Dresden und Umgebung: Ergebnisse aus der Verkehrserhebung SrV 2023 (brochure, March 2026)Published March 2026Joint brochure of the city, the DVB and the transport association VVO on the 2023 household travel survey. A chart sourced to the DVB gives annual MOBIbike rentals: 780,800 in 2021, 1,461,300 in 2022, 1,958,100 in 2023 and 2,076,300 in 2024.
Show 3 more sourcesShow fewer
↗ MOBI Dresden (DVB) — MOBIbike pageThe DVB's MOBIbike page: rental by QR code in the nextbike app, free return at MOBIpunkte, stations and marked streets, a 1-euro surcharge in the yellow zone, and the Plus MOBI add-on for 8 euros a month on top of a Deutschlandticket or BildungsTicket. Riders may also return bikes in Heidenau.
↗ Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe (VVO) — Ab 3. März: Bikesharing in Freital und Heidenau (3 Feb 2025)Press release announcing a bike-share pilot in Freital and Heidenau from 3 March 2025 with the VVO and nextbike, 25 bikes per town, at a cost of 16,000 euros per town of which the VVO bears half.
↗ Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe (VVO) — Gemischte Bilanz für Bikesharing in Freital und Heidenau (19 Dec 2025)Press release on the pilot's results: Heidenau averaged 16 rentals a day at 14 stations, with up to 47 on peak days in October, and continues; Freital averaged only seven a day, saw little effect from expanding from seven to twelve stations, and ends the pilot at the end of the year.

📅 How old is the evidence?

Two clocks, kept apart: when this entry’s sources were published, and what has happened to its record in the atlas. Documented span: since 2020. 5 of 8 sources carry a publication date, from 14 August 2020 to March 2026.

When the sources were published

  1. Technische Universität Dresden · researchTU Dresden — Aus sz-bike wird MOBIbike (14 Aug 2020)
  2. Technische Universität Dresden · researchTU Dresden — DVB und TUD-Studierendenrat schließen Vereinbarung über MOBIbike-Nutzung (28 Sep 2021)
  3. Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe (VVO) · operatorVerkehrsverbund Oberelbe (VVO) — Ab 3. März: Bikesharing in Freital und Heidenau (3 Feb 2025)
  4. Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe (VVO) · operatorVerkehrsverbund Oberelbe (VVO) — Gemischte Bilanz für Bikesharing in Freital und Heidenau (19 Dec 2025)
  5. Landeshauptstadt Dresden · city governmentLandeshauptstadt Dresden, DVB and VVO — Mobilität in Dresden und Umgebung: Ergebnisse aus der Verkehrserhebung SrV 2023 (brochure, March 2026)

Every source, with links ↑

What happened to this record

  1. Entered the record
  2. Sources last read

Every revision, permanent →

Show your work What this page rests on and what it can’t tell you · all 14 claims with their sources · the forensic record

Evidence file · public beta 14 addressable claims, 8 source dossiers, one permanent baseline. The file is unreviewed — an AI-assisted structural migration, not a human or expert endorsement. Every revision keeps a permanent copy under revision history.

Inspect the claims, one by one — verbatim text, sources and caveats for all 14

The text below is copied verbatim from the published record. Each claim names the source dossiers that carry it; caveats stay attached to the claim they qualify.

Claim 1 clm-06fda3fa77164c79 descriptive
which the city counts as its own system
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The city calls MOBIbike its municipal system and, in its rules for sharing operators, exempts it from fees because it is a municipal system.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Landeshauptstadt Dresden — Multimobil & Sharing (city mobility page)
Claim 2 clm-ef88f4ec170ae778 quantitative
since August 2020 the Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe have run it on the city's behalf
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The city says the municipal MOBIbike system has been run by the DVB on the city's behalf since August 2020.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Landeshauptstadt Dresden — Multimobil & Sharing (city mobility page)
Claim 3 clm-6b375ffb9e0d9f6b descriptive
with nextbike as the operator named in the city's rules
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The city's rules table for sharing systems lists nextbike as the current operator of MOBIbike, with market access by a special-use permit after a tender.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Landeshauptstadt Dresden — Multimobil & Sharing (city mobility page)
Claim 4 clm-5f7fbdef3ff9f717 descriptive
and in the system's live data feed
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The GBFS system information for MOBIbike names nextbike GmbH in Leipzig as operator.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. nextbike GmbH — MOBIbike GBFS feed, system information
Claim 5 clm-71f1383bcacad6f1 quantitative
It started on 17 August 2020 with 1,000 bikes, replacing the earlier sz-bike
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The university's launch notice says MOBIbike replaces sz-bike, doubles the number of bikes in Dresden to 1,000, and starts on Monday 17 August 2020.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. TU Dresden — Aus sz-bike wird MOBIbike (14 Aug 2020)
Claim 6 clm-b00cc5c56b354a60 quantitative
had about 2,000 bikes in July 2025
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The city gives about 2,000 bikes as of July 2025.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Landeshauptstadt Dresden — Multimobil & Sharing (city mobility page)
Claim 7 clm-91763820e8a2d6cb quantitative
Holders of a DVB subscription or a Deutschlandticket with the MOBI add-on ride the first 30 minutes free
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The city says holders of a DVB subscription or a Deutschlandticket who have booked the MOBI add-on can use a MOBIbike free for up to 30 minutes, several times a day.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Landeshauptstadt Dresden — Multimobil & Sharing (city mobility page)
Claim 8 clm-b23f31acb1e56eb6 quantitative
Stations and bikes are published as a GBFS feed under a CC0 licence
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The feed's system information sets the licence to CC0-1.0, and the feed index lists station information and status and free-bike status.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. nextbike GmbH — MOBIbike GBFS feed, system information
Claim 9 clm-52e1e3d773001648 quantitative
According to the DVB, rentals rose from 780,800 in 2021 to 2,076,300 in 2024
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
A chart in the brochure, sourced to the DVB, gives 780,800 MOBIbike rentals in 2021 and 2,076,300 in 2024. The figures sit only in the chart graphic, so there is no text passage to mark.
Caveat
These are rentals, a measure of use. A year after launch the DVB reported almost 800,000 rentals for the first twelve months.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Landeshauptstadt Dresden, DVB and VVO — Mobilität in Dresden und Umgebung: Ergebnisse aus der Verkehrserhebung SrV 2023 (brochure, March 2026)
Claim 10 clm-2b3677ad32cb0bae quantitative
Since August 2025 commercial e-bike and e-scooter providers compete on the same streets
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The city says new commercial e-bike and e-scooter offers have been available since August 2025 as an alternative to MOBIbike, with up to 3,000 e-bikes and 2,500 e-scooters allowed in total.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Landeshauptstadt Dresden — Multimobil & Sharing (city mobility page)
Claim 12 clm-cdc7b08a83c04701 quantitative
Heidenau averaged 16 rentals a day at its 14 stations and kept the scheme
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The VVO reports an average of 16 rentals a day at Heidenau's 14 stations and says Heidenau decided to continue the project.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe (VVO) — Gemischte Bilanz für Bikesharing in Freital und Heidenau (19 Dec 2025)
Claim 13 clm-22f42b13fa7ac604 descriptive
Freital averaged only seven rentals a day, saw little change after its network grew from seven to twelve stations, and ended the pilot at the end of the year
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The VVO reports that Freital averaged only seven rentals a day, that expanding its network from seven to twelve stations had hardly any effect on use, and that Freital ends the pilot at the end of the year.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe (VVO) — Gemischte Bilanz für Bikesharing in Freital und Heidenau (19 Dec 2025)
Claim 14 clm-13ab3801feeac50e descriptive
the published figures do not say which journeys the bikes replaced
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
Both the DVB's annual rental figures and its first-year figure count rentals and trip time; neither says what mode the trips replaced. This is a statement about what the figures contain, so there is no single passage to mark.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Landeshauptstadt Dresden, DVB and VVO — Mobilität in Dresden und Umgebung: Ergebnisse aus der Verkehrserhebung SrV 2023 (brochure, March 2026)
  2. TU Dresden — DVB und TUD-Studierendenrat schließen Vereinbarung über MOBIbike-Nutzung (28 Sep 2021)
Forensic record — source dossiers, gaps, hashes and the exact revision this page renders

This layer records what is known about each source, what is still missing, and the exact snapshot this page is rendering. A missing date, archive or hash stays visible as missing.

unreviewed Revision 2026-11-06-baseline effective 2026-11-06 · created 2026-11-06

Awaiting operator and domain-expert review; publication of this revision implies neither.

sha256:8dde000c716e398389268467a9f0e4a5af9d8a31c2564b70bfb7de41be5d23c9
Revision history → Permanent version link → Machine-readable record → Evidence Constitution →
14
of 14 claims mapped
8
source dossiers
4
publication dates recorded
0
archives linked
0
exact locators
0
content captures hashed

Governance facts carried by the record

Operator
nextbike GmbH, for the Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe (DVB), which runs MOBIbike on behalf of the City of Dresden
Actor types
city-government, utility, private
Funding model
mixed
Funding description
A city system run by the DVB on the city's behalf; riders pay fares or the Plus MOBI add-on (8 euros a month with a Deutschlandticket), and students at TU Dresden paid a 5-euro semester surcharge under the 2021 agreement. The city's payment to the DVB or nextbike is not published.
Cost
Not recorded
Ownership
Not recorded
Decision rights
Not recorded
Exit conditions
Not recorded

8 source dossiers

Landeshauptstadt Dresden — Multimobil & Sharing (city mobility page) dresden.de · 6 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-da011fd9eb59a311
Publisher
Name not classified · dresden.de
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-11-06
Dossier created
2026-11-06
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

The city's standing page on sharing. It says the municipal MOBIbike system has been run by the DVB on the city's behalf since August 2020, with about 2,000 bikes as of July 2025, and that DVB subscribers and Deutschlandticket holders with the MOBI add-on ride up to 30 minutes free. Its rules table lists nextbike as the current operator, one operator chosen by tender, and no fee because it is a municipal system; it also lists the commercial e-bike and e-scooter providers admitted since August 2025.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
TU Dresden — Aus sz-bike wird MOBIbike (14 Aug 2020) tu-dresden.de · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-7fc6d5fc1253936c
Publisher
Name not classified · tu-dresden.de
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2020-08-14
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-11-06
Dossier created
2026-11-06
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

University news item on the launch: MOBIbike, run by nextbike and the DVB, replaces sz-bike, doubles the number of bikes in Dresden to 1,000 and starts on Monday 17 August 2020, with bikes available at 14 MOBIpunkte, return streets and a flex zone.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
TU Dresden — DVB und TUD-Studierendenrat schließen Vereinbarung über MOBIbike-Nutzung (28 Sep 2021) tu-dresden.de · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-1b1f4618c7a9d078
Publisher
Name not classified · tu-dresden.de
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2021-09-28
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-11-06
Dossier created
2026-11-06
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

University news item on the student agreement with the DVB, under which students pay a 5-euro surcharge per semester for 30 free minutes a trip. It quotes the DVB board's one-year figure: the 1,000 yellow bikes were rented almost 800,000 times within the first year.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
nextbike GmbH — MOBIbike GBFS feed, system information gbfs.nextbike.net · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-1e2ae541e3d0b057
Publisher
Name not classified · gbfs.nextbike.net
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-11-06
Dossier created
2026-11-06
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Machine-readable system information of the MOBIbike GBFS feed. It names the system MOBIbike, gives nextbike GmbH in Leipzig as operator and sets the licence to CC0-1.0; the feed index lists station information, station status, free-bike status and geofencing zones.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Landeshauptstadt Dresden, DVB and VVO — Mobilität in Dresden und Umgebung: Ergebnisse aus der Verkehrserhebung SrV 2023 (brochure, March 2026) dresden.de · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-0f4c46005aad2aa4
Publisher
Name not classified · dresden.de
Type / language
pdf · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-11-06
Dossier created
2026-11-06
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Joint brochure of the city, the DVB and the transport association VVO on the 2023 household travel survey. A chart sourced to the DVB gives annual MOBIbike rentals: 780,800 in 2021, 1,461,300 in 2022, 1,958,100 in 2023 and 2,076,300 in 2024.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
MOBI Dresden (DVB) — MOBIbike page mobi-dresden.de · background

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-37df9834c9df0a24
Publisher
Name not classified · mobi-dresden.de
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-11-06
Dossier created
2026-11-06
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

The DVB's MOBIbike page: rental by QR code in the nextbike app, free return at MOBIpunkte, stations and marked streets, a 1-euro surcharge in the yellow zone, and the Plus MOBI add-on for 8 euros a month on top of a Deutschlandticket or BildungsTicket. Riders may also return bikes in Heidenau.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Background source; no baseline claim points here
Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe (VVO) — Ab 3. März: Bikesharing in Freital und Heidenau (3 Feb 2025) old.vvo-online.de · background

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-aa27cb37f5e5200b
Publisher
Name not classified · old.vvo-online.de
Type / language
pdf · language not classified
Published
2025-02-03
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-11-06
Dossier created
2026-11-06
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Press release announcing a bike-share pilot in Freital and Heidenau from 3 March 2025 with the VVO and nextbike, 25 bikes per town, at a cost of 16,000 euros per town of which the VVO bears half.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Background source; no baseline claim points here
Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe (VVO) — Gemischte Bilanz für Bikesharing in Freital und Heidenau (19 Dec 2025) old.vvo-online.de · 3 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-239760057d377afd
Publisher
Name not classified · old.vvo-online.de
Type / language
pdf · language not classified
Published
2025-12-19
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-11-06
Dossier created
2026-11-06
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Press release on the pilot's results: Heidenau averaged 16 rentals a day at 14 stations, with up to 47 on peak days in October, and continues; Freital averaged only seven a day, saw little effect from expanding from seven to twelve stations, and ends the pilot at the end of the year.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Known limits of this file
  • Publisher names and source languages have not yet been classified; domains are recorded without guessing.
  • Existing source notes are descriptive locators, not page- or paragraph-exact citations.
  • A missing archive, publication date or content hash is shown as null rather than inferred.
  • The project-level evidence grade ranks the strongest source in the entry; it is not a truth score for every claim.

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Compare this project

🇹🇼 YouBike Public Bike-Share · Taipei City-commissioned bike-share, two contracts: Taipei's YouBike runs under a BOT deal; Dresden's MOBIbike is run by nextbike for the DVB. 🇩🇪 MOBIpunkte: Dresden's Mobility Hubs · Dresden The MOBIpunkte are the hubs where MOBIbike meets trams, buses, teilAuto cars and charging points.

Explore the wider context

🔑 Your Smart City Is Owned by Someone Else📖 Demand-responsive transit📖 Geofencing📖 GTFS (General Transit Feed Specification)
📎 Cite this project

1001 Smart Cities (2026). “MOBIbike: Dresden's Public Bike-Share Run by nextbike” — Dresden, Germany. The Smart City Atlas. https://1001smartcities.org/projects/dresden-mobibike/ (last verified 2026-11-06). Data: CC BY 4.0.

The underlying data is free to reuse with attribution — see the open data page.

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