Nearby Bikes and GBFS API

Find available bikes near a location (docked and dockless)

Overview

Get real-time bike availability data near a location. Returns both station-based bikes (docked) and dockless bikes from various bike-share providers including Citi Bike, Lime, Spin, and others.

This is a production-ready wrapper around GBFS (General Bikeshare Feed Specification) feeds with near-real time updates, optimized for low-latency queries and high availability.

Authentication

This endpoint requires Auth0 authentication. Include your access token in the Authorization header:

Authorization: Bearer YOUR_AUTH0_ACCESS_TOKEN

Query Parameters

latitude · number · required

User’s latitude (-90 to 90). Can also use lat as parameter name.

longitude · number · required

User’s longitude (-180 to 180). Can also use lon or lng as parameter name.

radius · number · default: "1000"

Search radius in meters (default: 1000m)

limit · number · default: "200"

Maximum number of results per category (stations and dockless bikes)

Response

stations · array

Array of bike station objects (docked bikes)

Show Station Object

station_id · string

Unique station identifier

name · string

Station name

lat · number

Station latitude

lon · number

Station longitude

num_bikes_available · number

Number of bikes currently available

num_docks_available · number

Number of empty docks available

capacity · number

Total station capacity

is_installed · boolean

Whether the station is installed and operational

is_renting · boolean

Whether bikes can currently be rented

is_returning · boolean

Whether bikes can currently be returned

last_reported · number

Unix timestamp of last status update

distance · number

Distance from query location in meters

brand · string

Bike-share provider name (e.g., “Citi Bike”)

api_type · string

API type (e.g., “gbfs”, “tfl”)

dockless_bikes · array

Array of dockless bike objects

Show Dockless Bike Object

bike_id · string

Unique bike identifier

lat · number

Bike latitude

lon · number

Bike longitude

is_reserved · boolean

Whether the bike is currently reserved

is_disabled · boolean

Whether the bike is disabled

vehicle_type · string

Type of vehicle (e.g., “bike”, “scooter”)

distance · number

Distance from query location in meters

brand · string

Provider name (e.g., “Lime”, “Spin”)

provider · string

Provider identifier

metadata · object

Metadata about the response

Show Metadata Object

total_stations · number

Total number of stations returned

total_dockless · number

Total number of dockless bikes returned

providers · array

List of providers included in results

Request Example

cURL

curl "https://api.cyclemate.com/bikes/nearby/?latitude=40.7589&longitude=-73.9851&radius=500" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_AUTH0_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json"

JavaScript

const response = await fetch(
  'https://api.cyclemate.com/bikes/nearby/?latitude=40.7589&longitude=-73.9851&radius=500',
  {
    method: 'GET',
    headers: {
      'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_AUTH0_ACCESS_TOKEN',
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    },
  }
);

const bikes = await response.json();
console.log(`Found ${bikes.stations.length} stations and ${bikes.dockless_bikes.length} dockless bikes`);

Python

import requests

url = "https://api.cyclemate.com/bikes/nearby/"
headers = {
    "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_AUTH0_ACCESS_TOKEN"
}
params = {
    "latitude": 40.7589,
    "longitude": -73.9851,
    "radius": 500
}

response = requests.get(url, headers=headers, params=params)
data = response.json()
stations = data["stations"]
dockless = data["dockless_bikes"]

Response Example

{
  "stations": [
    {
      "station_id": "3639",
      "name": "W 52 St & 11 Ave",
      "lat": 40.76727216,
      "lon": -73.99392888,
      "num_bikes_available": 12,
      "num_docks_available": 27,
      "capacity": 39,
      "is_installed": true,
      "is_renting": true,
      "is_returning": true,
      "last_reported": 1699564800,
      "distance": 245.8,
      "brand": "Citi Bike",
      "api_type": "gbfs"
    }
  ],
  "dockless_bikes": [
    {
      "bike_id": "lime_123abc",
      "lat": 40.7589,
      "lon": -73.9851,
      "is_reserved": false,
      "is_disabled": false,
      "vehicle_type": "bike",
      "distance": 50.2,
      "brand": "Lime",
      "provider": "lime"
    },
    {
      "bike_id": "spin_456def",
      "lat": 40.7592,
      "lon": -73.9848,
      "is_reserved": false,
      "is_disabled": false,
      "vehicle_type": "bike",
      "distance": 75.3,
      "brand": "Spin",
      "provider": "spin"
    }
  ],
  "metadata": {
    "total_stations": 1,
    "total_dockless": 2,
    "providers": ["Citi Bike", "Lime", "Spin"]
  }
}

Supported Providers

Cyclemate aggregates data from multiple bike-share providers:

• Docked Systems: Citi Bike (NYC), Bay Wheels (SF), Divvy (Chicago), TfL Cycle Hire (London), and many more GBFS-compliant systems
• Dockless Systems: Lime, Spin, Jump, and other free-floating bike providers

Notes

• Bike availability data is cached and updated every 30-60 seconds
• Results are ordered by distance from the query location
• The limit parameter applies separately to stations and dockless bikes
• Distance is calculated using the Haversine formula (great-circle distance)
• Only operational bikes/stations are returned (excludes disabled or out-of-service items)

Data Freshness

• Stations: Updated every 30-60 seconds from GBFS feeds
• Dockless Bikes: Updated every 60 seconds from provider APIs
• Check the last_reported timestamp for station data freshness

Error Responses

400 · object

Invalid coordinates

{
  "error": "latitude and longitude query parameters are required"
}

400 · object

Invalid coordinate values

{
  "error": "Invalid latitude/longitude values"
}