Bluebikes Customer Service

So far it’s been mostly good riding blue bikes. It’s convenient and it’s easier than actually owning a bike in some ways because you don’t have to deal with your bike once you get to a location. I’m taking off one star due to lack of availability of bikes at my home location near the Somerville hospital, as well as some broken bikes that I ended up riding that were not labeled as such and made rides quite unpleasant. If these factors were improved though it certainly would be five stars for me.

My first visit to Boston & this was my preferred mode of transportation. From my experience the app was very accurate as to the number of bikes at each location I used. The system is easy to use & I definitely got my $’s worth considering how many miles I rode. The navigation through the app is as accurate as can be expected, taking into account the amount of construction in the city. Once you figure the city out it’s not difficult to go one more block & find the next one way street to keep you going in the correct direction. Or just wander around like a dumb tourist like I did most of the time.

These bikes were one of the best things I experienced in Boston/best purchase made. They were so easy to figure out, and they were a great deal. I would highly recommend getting the monthly pass if you are here for two days. It allows you to rent as many bikes as possible. The app is fantastic, it tells you how many docking stations are open or how many bikes there are at each station. These bikes were a total feet saver and allowed us to see SO much of Boston in an efficient yet fun way. The city is SUPER bike friendly. I HIGHLY recommend using the bikes. Just make sure you read the helmet law if you are under 16. Happy riding!! 🚲

I was on vacation & wanted to rent a bike. I downloaded this app by accident not realizing that this wasn’t the app I needed, this was for a city I was not in. I made a purchase & then realized it was the wrong app for where I was. I contacted customer service & received a very nice response & my refund was back in my account within 24 hours of contacting them. It was such a positive experience that when I visit the city this app is for I fully intend to rent a bike with this app. Thank you for a pleasant outcome to something I feared would be a hassle.

Bluebikes has helped me explore boston and surrounding areas like no other. The flexibility to move around any part of the city with the confidence that if I get tired, I can park it at a nearby station and use another form of commute is priceless. I realised that biking is not as tiring and I was able to bike for more than an hour on many occasions without tiring myself. The quality of bikes, the nice and smooth gears and ergonomics helped in a lot of ways. I’m so grateful this service exists!

Does almost all that it should. Toggle between Bike/Dock view is a nice touch. I really like the rewards program even though I haven’t figured out what the points are good for. I would prefer that the dock full gauge be an actual gauge so that if you look closely you can tell about how many bikes or open docks. Sure, you can see the #s if you click a station, but most smart phones are very high res and those of us with good eyes could avoid that step most of the time.

This app is great it was easy to enter in my credit card information and check out various bikes throughout the Cambridge and Somerville area. I was able to find stations along my route and was grateful to have a two hour limit with the all day pass. I would love if New York City followed in Massachusetts steps by allowing for an all day pass as well. I will definitely use the app again when I’m back in Massachusetts.

The app has worked really well! The bikes have been in good shape. They have a rain guard which is helpful for not getting mucky while commuting. They also have a front basket which is alright (could be a bit more defined on the biker side to stop things rolling out if you go over a big curb, but it works! Last wish is that I wish the bikes were pedal assist, but other than minor critiques, it’s working great!

Big, heavy, monster bikes built for durability, good lighting system, (front & rear), there can be slight peccadillos from bike to bike, usually related to braking or shifting, (“this one feels a little different than the last one I was riding)”, the seat height adjustment has also taken some wear over the years, often some rust in the knob where the screw is. Only speaking as someone who got an annual membership back in 2011, when the bikes debuted and were generally in better condition.

I really like using blue bikes to work out, go on a leisurely ride, commute or just get somewhere faster. I wish there were more socks available at high traffic stations: near Kendall and Porter. I also have noticed that the app does not always display the number of bikes/docks that are actually available on stations that appear to have been recently added on to. Love using the app to rent a bike, it’s so easy!

I was skeptical at first, but it proved to be a good service. Plus, the bikes are really nice as long as they’re working. It’s really important for people to report when there’s something wrong with the bike so that they can be repaired. So, if users do their part, that should go along way to making sure bikes are repaired and proper time.

Overall, accurate app and easy to use. Occasionally there is a broken bike and this is inconvenient if it looks like there is 1 bike left at a station. I also really liked using the route planning feature because it will bring you onto clearly defined bike routes. I would recommend blue bikes app.

It’s so worth it in the summer. Cost marginally as much as bud and train fares. If you Don’t live near a train station like me, these bikes getting too and from the train are life savers. Plus the bike angels feature (taking bikes from overstocked docks and parking at under stocked docks) helps you get some of your money back.

I really enjoy the whole concept of “community bikes”, and this App certainly helps move this concept into reality. I’d say a few improvements would be to have “favorite places” so I can access Home, Work, Family/Friends more easily. Also, mapping routes doesn’t feel as intuitive as on other map apps. But overall, the app works and gets me from point A to point B.

I truly enjoy this service, it makes no sense to own your own bike with half the year being cold in Boston and little storage space. The only thing that’s missing is a more detailed ride history including the bike number used. I had a docking incident and didn’t know which bike I had to check to make sure it was docked correctly.

Trying to avoid public transit & Uber, don’t own a car, & eager to get out of my neighborhood. This has been fantastic. It took a couple of days to open my account due to a glitch, but it has otherwise been awesome. The bikes aren’t fast or fabulous, but they are functional & accessible. Now if only Boston fixed its crappy roads!!

I've saved so much money and time on my commute since joining the Blue Bikes annual membership. My commute has vastly improved from dark and dingy subways to bright and breezy bike paths! I love how the app calculates calories spent and timed mileage. I've never felt healthier. It's improved my life in many ways PLUS it's eco-friendly and you don't have to worry about bike maintenance! Win win win! 🚴‍♀️💕

I love Blue bikes because there are several stations you can pick up and drop off bikes! The newer bikes are easier to maneuver, but all bikes are well-maintained. You have the option to notify Blue bikes of any bikes that are in need of repair when you end your ride. What a great way to get around!

It is extremely easy to use the app and get a bike. The stations nearly always work. Sometimes they don’t because the key pad doesn’t work. But this is rare as is having a bike that has an issue. The bike are easy to ride, there are loads of stations and it is a cheap way of accessing the city. And get a little exercise.

So easy to navigate the city with this app! I recommend the monthly pass even if you are here for a week. We saw so much and didn’t get tired at all! There were stations even in the residential area that we stayed in so it made getting home at the end of the day a breeze.

We had a family trip to Boston this summer. One of the best things about our trip was Blue Bikes. We were able to get around very easily and really enjoyed how easy it was to grab a Blue Bike and go. Very easy to use app, easy to rent and to return.

I’ve used this FREE (45 minutes at a time) bike share program while visiting Boston for the last few days. The map app is easy to use, showing you where there are bikes and open docks available. Only suggestion is to change street names to black (not white) and bigger font…to make it easier to read.

Super easy to set up and lots of opt to pick up and drop off. We highly recommend the adventure day.

Fast, stable, informative. Good UX design. Does what it needs to do.

I rarely wrote any reviews, but using Bluebikes is such a nightmare that I can't help but writing these down. I used Bluebikes for only a week to commute, but technological problems have already occurred 3 times. The primary issue was that I couldn't end the ride. The last time when I used bluebikes, I tried two stations to return the bike, but all the docks didn't work. I contacted the Customer Service; the representative found out that the stations were disconnected, and then simply told me to return it to another station. It was pretty late and the station was away from my place, so I asked them to send some technicians here. They told me that I could leave the bike at the station, and then the nightmare started. Every 24 hours the app would remind me that I was still using a bike. Then I contacted the Customer Service. Then they told me they already contacted the operation team. For FIVE days, apparently no operation team showed up. I went back to the station; the bike was properly docked there. I took photos, sent them to the Customer Service, asked them to end the ride for me, and then they told me AGAIN they would work with the operation team...I don't know how this will end. I don't understand how or why the company could have turned such a great idea of bike sharing into such a hateful product. It could have made others' lives more convenient and themselves a little profit. Now I would rather spend more time and money on other means of transportation than touch bluebikes again. I should have decided not to use it when the technological issue happened to me the first time.

I should have read all the reviews before daring to rent a "city bike". I can't understand how this company gets away with charging customers for errors that arise from their own logistical challenges. Can't the city of Boston demand of their contractors, something better for their citizens? I am having the exact same experience that other users here. Rented 2 bikes, had to ride more than 5 extra miles than my original plan as the 5 different docking stations that we found were either full or not "online", returned both bikes at the same time in the same docking station, received a notification in the app that the ride was done, but then the next day I noticed that a timer was still ongoing in the app. Come to check, the trip is still open for one of the bikes. Customer service tells me that I never returned the bike and that I will be liable for the $1,200 penalty. No solution offered other than "return the bike to the docking station", I went back the next day and no bike with the mentioned number is to be found. This is very frustrating. Please don't ever use this system, but if you absolutely have to, document everything, record videos and take photos. Sadly, Do not trust this company. And cover all your bases.

I love the city and I also get around walking but this past Fourth of July I decided with a group of friends to take the blue bikes out for the day and go see the fireworks along the Charles river. I was the first one on my bike at the first station and I had clicked on the daily pass. We have all seen that there was a promotion of a daily pass for 10 bucks. That is what they are marketing on there signs and what not. We had gone to another station to get bikes for the rest of my friends and we were driving the bikes for five hours at the end of the night after all the fireworks were done and we got to our preferred dock station, we were all charged 50+ dollars. Apparently the day pass is only for two hours and then you get charged $.25 per minute after that some Bull like that. If we had known we would spend over $50 each we would’ve decided to take an Uber instead of the bikes I had two other friends that had gotten their bikes after I did and we charged 70+ dollars. After sharing my experience with other friends, this is actually a common thing where with blue bikes you never know what amount you will get charged. Another friend who has driven the blue bikes before said they were charged $200 not sure if the reason but that was the last time they got on those bikes. I wanted to delete my blue bike account unfortunately it is linked to my Lyft, and it will delete the Lyft account as well. I don’t think I will continue to use the bike services. If you are going short distance this will probably be beneficial for you but not for an all day excursion because you will more likely pay an extravagant amount. With that extravagant amount, I could’ve bought a new bike from Walmart for $80 or paid the Uber. Scam? It feels like it.

I’ve been in Boston for a couple weeks now, and I also enjoy biking. Paying $20 a month for a bike seemed like a pretty solid deal. I couldn’t bring my own because it would’ve been very troublesome getting it here. But the problem is that the app simply won’t let me purchase a pass. I’ve already put in a payment method but every time I try buying a pass it just says that the transaction failed. I’ve tried multiple cards but none of them go through. It also won’t let me buy a bike at the station without my physical card, meaning I have to pay $2.95 every time I want to ride a bike. When I try enough times, it just tells me to call customer service, which was no help. The lady just told me that the bike station was down and to try at another one. That wasn’t even true. I literally got a bike out from that station later with a physical card. I’d like to not have to pay almost $3 every time I want to go riding. If this gets fixed then I’m sure the app itself is fine. But until then, this app literally is useless.

I have talked to a few people at BlueBikes, who have told me that BlueBikes knows that the app is not working properly, but that they don’t care enough to fix it. For weeks, the app has shown e-bikes present and available for riding, but there is no way to reserve them. This doesn’t seem to be a problem at all of the locations, just the one that is right outside of my work I.e. the one I would use if I could. But by the time I get out of work, all the e-bikes are gone. It seems like a glitch that could be fixed if they cared to, but I have gotten nowhere contacting their customer service which I’m pretty sure is ai generated. If the membership worked the way it is supposed to, I would say it’s worth the annual fee, but since it doesn’t, I feel more like I got ripped off.

I love the idea of Blue Bikes. It’s a great way to get around Boston, which is what I used it for when I was in town for a conference. Two flaws you need to fix to get 5 stars from me: 1. Please accurately indicate how many bikes are docked at a station. It’s frustrating when I see three bikes but the app indicates none! 2. Please do a better job of restocking bikes. The station nearest my hotel was empty every morning and I had to keep walking until I found a station that had bikes and that the app agreed had bikes. Even the Boston Convention Center station was empty on Sunday afternoon when I tried to leave, leading to another walking adventure until I found a station that both had bikes and that the app said had bikes.

I picked up a broken bike and called Bluebikes to help me with my issue. They told me to store the bike in my house and they will come pick it up. I have called them repeatedly and they have not sent anyone to pick up the bike for THREE DAYS. They are using my house as a storage facility for their broken equipment, and if I choose not to keep the bike in my house, they will charge me $1200. This is no way to abuse customers when this is not my fault at all. For example, if I were traveling and leaving town soon, I would have no choice but pay them $1200 since I would not be able to store the bike. Furthermore, when I called, I asked them to end my ride on the app so I could get other bikes to go places, and they refused to help. Overall, such a terrible experience, really too bad they’re the only bike sharing platform in Boston.

I had the monthly membership for about two months I actually got a lot of use out of these but it’s not the most convenient and could be a lot better. Time windows are too small return method is problematic and everything’s glitchy. The reason I’m deleting it and buying a bike is because Of the glitches today when I got to the bikes the app wouldn’t load at all even after deleting and re downloading it. Couldn’t even go on my bike ride had to walk home so I deleted the app and am buying a bike. Again great concept but until it is made more convenient and less glitchy it’s not worth it just buy a bike

As a bluebike traveler I normally don’t see problems with the system or any problems within the app. Today I rode through a thunderstorm and when I got to a spot to dock my bike, it wouldn’t lock in. I rode through the rain to another stop just to find out that the dock over there wasn’t working either. My next step was to take the bike with me on the train to another dock yet the dock over there wasn’t working. I called and talked to a friendly guy named Tony who quickly resolved the problem. In the end I did not get charged an extra fine and was thrilled to have this docking problem over with.

Be warned: you might see open docks on the app map when you first take a bike out, but they fill up quickly! The app map shows many open docks when leaving work in Back Bay, then when I arrive home in a Southie, there are ZERO along my way(3 stations, totally full!). I live closest to the library station and often have to dock my bike at FARRAGUT. I wish there was a way to have an option to reserve a dock at your destination upon removing a bike - and the app map would show users which docks are reserved. I’ve had a membership for years but the popularity of these is really demanding a change in the system, no? Customer service disagrees when I contacted them, so I’ll be buying my own bike when my membership expires.

This is consistently one of the most frustrating services I have ever used. The theory is great but in reality the bikes, docks and app have so many glitches that you almost always have to spend a bunch of extra time. Go to pick up a bike that’s listed and it isn’t there or is broken. Go to dock in an empty spot and it’s actually taken or the dock won’t accept the bike. Dock correctly but the app doesn’t recognize it so they charge you a bunch of extra money. Oh and if you contact customer service they might get back to you in two weeks with an unhelpful response. No real-time support. Little maintenance of anything. More efficient to walk and then just beat your head against a wall for the same effect.

I had been using a 3rd party bikeshare app but kept showing up to stations that claimed to have docks available - only to find none. Called Bluebikes about this to tell them and they recommended the official app. Same bad data with faulty station info so I had to walk over a mile from the nearest station to my destination. Service has gone rapidly downhill since it’s switched from Hubway (New Balance sponsored) to Blue Bikes (Blue Cross Blue Shield). When I called them, I was directed to a call center in North Carolina. Will not be renewing my membership and look forward to switching completely to using Lime Bike and my own personal bike more often... too bad, I’d used this service for over 6yrs

I rent a bike today, and after riding a few minutes I noticed that the seat is start to loose, I tried to tight it but the screw is stuck. So I returned it to the nearest station and want to replace. I only ride one mile within 10 minutes. However, the station does not allow me to replace. They just charge me money. I contacted customer service, they told me al long as I rerun the bike no matter what reason it’s done! The rental bikes in DC allow user to replace bikes within a period in case the bike has problem. Never though Bluebikes have such imparity clauses. So If you are unlucky to get a bike with problems, you take the risk to lose your money.

I rode a blue bike from the station near my house to the station outside Harvard Kennedy School. There were two docks available both were broken. Rode to two more stations in Harvard square, one said two docks were available...there were none. I called customer service and was told there was nothing they could do and they couldn't call someone to pick up the bike because they communicate with those people via email. I also saw two other people biking around looking to dock their bikes. Two hours later in 90 degree heat and I'm NEVER doing this again. Horrible customer service and they need more docking stations or less bikes at each station.

Please please add something to the app to let us know when the people won’t be at Longwood to remove the bikes from the racks as we drop off, it’s such a waste of time to bike in when they aren’t there and then start the quest to find an open rack for the 100+ of us who usually drop off at Longwood Update, dropping my review score, they added a little emblem to show that someone was at Longwood but then you get a bike and show up and nobody is there anyways half the time so it’s a lie anyways, what a waste the membership is half of the year in the winter!

When it works it's great, but that's maybe a third of the time. The rest of the time there are no bikes, no free docks, ALL parked bikes are totally broken or won't release. Most importantly, they make it way too difficult to turn off auto-renew. You can sign up for an auto-renew membership in-app but you can't turn it off in-app? Predatory tactics and not worth it. Edit: Bringing down to one star. A bike broke on my way home and the app glitched, refusing to let me replace the bike after I docked it. Had to walk home, tried to get a refund on my membership and they refused.

The single time I got the blue bikes to work I loved the speed and convenience of using them, but there is something seriously wrong with their payment system. I tried two different cards and also Apple Pay and it was NEVER ABLE to process my payment. I most definitely had more than the $3 needed in my account. Spent so much time trying to reinsert my card info and get the bikes working that it completely messed up my plans two out of three times I tried to use them in a single summer.

I paid for a day pass - unlimited rides for 24 hours. Then I took a ride the same day and they charged me $21. Apparently e-bikes aren’t included on the day pass. Which is fine, if that were ever disclosed. But it wasn’t, or I would have ridden a regular bike. They withhold that information and then bill you astronomically for using an ebike. Again, just disclose the fees for that bike and that it’s not included rather than showing nothing and then charging me after the fact. The only way I even knew was because of the charge on my card!

I'd wager 60% of my rides are broken or poorly maintained. Seats that slip and won't start at the same height. Shifters that grind and metal springs that pop out. Gears that grind at the pdel and rear wheel and are a struggle to pedal. Docking locks that don't work, both from the dock being broken and the bike being broken. And if you bring your bike to a dock and lovk it in place and it feels good and walk away? Better check your app, because it might not let you knowit didn't dock correctly for 3 hours.

Nice to have ebike available but it seems like there is no suspension and any small bump in the road feels like the discs in my back are about to herniate. So rider beware! Also great you can reserve ebike but sometimes when I arrive there are only 1-2 miles left, not enough to get to my destination so I end up paying blue bike for nothing. They should advertise mileage left for those reserving OR ensure there are > 5(?) miles left on a bike. Confused why they do not monitor this…

I’m consistently disappointed with the app and above all customer service. I experience technical issues on a weekly cadence. Customer support provides no help whatsoever on whether they are going to fix the issues, what’s happening, and offers cheap fixes by way of a $5 coupon. These issues cause delays and are incredibly frustrating. They do not care about customers, never failing to make that clear. Fix the app. Probably less stress to walk.

I made an account a couple years ago, haven’t used tile bikes in awhile, and just recently tried to take out a bike again. It wouldn’t let me log into the app. I tried to create a new account but it detected my old account already in the database. So now I’m in a catch 22 where I can’t log onto my account no matter what and I can’t make a new account with my already existing email. Had to pay physically with my card at the terminal (can only get e-bike through app tho)

The map feature works really well to find places to rent bikes. Unfortunately, the ride type UX is not great and that you will not be given the option to choose duration before you buy. And if you buy the wrong pass type, customer service will not help you. What looks like a $1 credit card authorization charge is actually a purchase - be warned they’re looking to nickel and dime you.

Blue bikes is great, but frequently many of their locations are “offline” when using the app. I’ve seen people use a bike key when this happens (I think they used to mail those out). There are a lot of stations so you can usually find another one that’s working, but if you were planning to bike somewhere in the city then that extra find time can be the same amount as if you’d just walked to your destination in the first place.

I love being able to use a bike to get around, and this service... well, it needs work. 3 experiences with this service In the week I visited Boston left me frustrated. - Road a bike to an area and could not park the bike. All the bike docking stations in the area were full. -road to an area and could not ride back, all bikes in the area disappeared at rush hour. -returned a bike and then got locked out of the system, when the returned bike did not register, even though it locked into the dock.

My account is active, I have a corporate membership but my account does not show I have a subscription and keeps prompting me to pay for an annual membership, the customer reps have been slow to respond which I can assume is due to the overwhelming complaints they have received. This is harder to use, not user friendly, and highly inefficient. At this point PLEASE get a bike instead, less frustrating then trying to manage blue bike subscription.

This app is so buggy in so many different ways. I can’t count the number of times I’ve tried to unlock a bike and it errors out, the only solution is to just keep retrying and it eventually works. Often takes up to 10 tries — *so* frustrating. Today I have a separate issue unlocking the bike where it’s simply not accepting any payment methods (tried multiple cards). Note I have the annual pass so not sure why it even asks me for a payment method of a $0.01 hold every time I unlock it. The bluebike system itself is awesome — I probably use it on average twice a day to get anywhere I need to go, but the app is the worst one I’ve ever used — it has 1 job and does it horribly. Please please please get someone to fix this app!!!!!!

I tried to switch account in the app and I spent ten minutes couldn’t find it. Bluebikes UX designer, what are you thinking????? Ok I want to amend to my comment. After half an hour and talk to the representative on the phone, I finally found it the log out button. It is hidden so well that normally you won’t be able to see it. I’m hoping someone can do a better UX design in the next release. This is so frustrating to use.

Delay updating/migrating to the new app as long as you can! This app used to tell you trip distance and estimated calorie burn. This data synced with Apple Health and fitness apps (e.g., Whoop). It also showed you your total number of trips and total distance biked. I am really disappointed that Lyft is removing these features from the Bluebikes app. It seems like Lyft is killing them off permanently/indefinitely, just like it did with the Citibikes app in New York City a couple of years ago.

Great service, I use it all the time, however very frequently the code I am given in the app will not unlock any of the bikes on the rack. Also the app says there are no bikes when I'm standing next to one or two on the rack.

Not friendly for foreigners it won't accept a canadian credit card

Bought four 30 minutes rides while at a docking station in Boston. The bikes wouldn’t unlock because the app said there were “0 bikes available” (this was not true, the app just didn’t realize there were bikes docked). Contacted customer service asking for a refund since we never used the rides anyway and they just ignored me.