After carpooling, BMW to offer bike ride-sharing scheme in congested cities

As a first step to bring motorcycles to a broader audience, the Munich-based carmaker will start a pilot in May allowing people to rent bikes via an app from dealers for a few days at a time

BMW AG would like to start offering up the back seat on motorbikes and scooters to get around congested cities -- if the issue of helmets can be solved.

“This is definitely an option, but we haven’t found the solution for the second helmet yet,” Peter Schwarzenbauer, who heads BMW’s Mini, Rolls-Royce and motorcycle brands, said in an interview at the Geneva International Motor Show. “There’s the issue of sizing and then re-using helmets in the summer heat -- it’s not ideal.”

BMW already offers car sharing via its DriveNow brand, where customers can rent vehicles like the Mini Countryman