Direct answer: a fleet of shared electric bikes gives your residents an alternative to the car for getting around every day, and gives the building something concrete to show in its sustainability story: bikes with its brand on show and usage data. Cityflow provides the fleet and runs it; your team doesn't buy or maintain any bikes.
This article is only about how the bike fits into the environmental side of your ESG story. How the service works, who pays and how much work it creates is in the guide to electric bikes for flex living.
What does mobility have to do with a building's sustainability?
More than it seems, even though it gets talked about less than energy. A building's impact isn't measured only by what it consumes inside: how the people who live there get around every day also counts.
A building doesn't decide how each resident gets to work or to the shops. It does decide which alternatives they have to hand from day one. That's where a fleet of electric bikes included in the stay comes in.
What does a shared fleet offer that bike parking doesn't?
Bike parking only serves people who already have a bike. In flex living, many people arrive with a suitcase for a few months and aren't going to buy a bike for that time.
A shared fleet is available from day one, for every resident, without anyone buying anything. And because it's electric, it also works for people who wouldn't ride an ordinary bike: because of the hills, the distance or wanting to get to work without wearing themselves out.
What can the building show?
What can be seen and what can be checked. Four things:
- The fleet, carrying your brand. Bikes in the building's colours and logo at the entrance. They're there on every tour and in every photo of the building.
- That it's for everyone. The bike is included in the stay: it isn't an extra reserved for those who pay more.
- Your fleet's usage data. Cityflow records every rental on its platform. Ask Cityflow which data on your fleet you can have and how often.
- The network data. Cityflow publishes its operating data, with the extraction date and methodology, under an open licence: you can cite it, naming Cityflow as the source.
What's best not to claim without measuring it?
Anything you can't prove. In sustainability, a figure that can't be checked takes away more credibility than it adds. This table separates what you can say today from what needs a method and your own measurement:
| You can say it today | Needs a method and a measurement before you say it |
|---|---|
| The building offers shared electric bikes, included in the stay | How many residents have given up the car |
| The bikes carry the building's brand and are run by Cityflow | How many emissions the fleet has avoided |
| How many rentals your fleet has had in a given period, with the data Cityflow gives you | Which specific means of transport each trip replaced |
| Across the Cityflow network, the bike is used as the day's transport, according to its public data | That the building is more sustainable than another because it has bikes |
The practical rule: describe the service and cite data with its source. If you want to claim an impact, measure it first with a method you can explain.
What does the data say about how the bikes are used?
That they're used as transport during the day, not for a one-hour ride. Across Cityflow's whole accommodation operation (hotels, residences and flex living):
- The median rental lasts 8.3 hours.
- Most returns happen between 7 pm and 9 pm.
In other words, the bike goes out in the morning and comes back as evening falls. These are figures for the whole network, not for one particular building. You'll find the methodology in the operating data.
Who makes sure the fleet keeps working?
Cityflow. An idle fleet adds nothing to any sustainability story. Maintenance, repairs, charging, insurance, GPS and resident support in their own language are Cityflow's job; your team doesn't touch a bike.
Cityflow bikes are built for shared use: they sleep outdoors, have GPS and a smart lock, and are insured.
Where does it fit in your communications?
Wherever you already talk about sustainability, with the same standard: what can be seen and what can be checked.
- On the website and on the tour, with the bikes in sight and carrying your brand.
- In your sustainability report, if you publish one, as a mobility service for residents, with whatever usage data you have.
- In information for owners or investors, with the same wording and the same sources as in the report.
If you want to see how a flex-living brand has done it, there's the Be Casa by Greystar case.
How do you get started?
- Tell Cityflow about your building: city, number of units and opening date if it hasn't opened yet.
- Cityflow suggests how many bikes to start with and the fee.
- Decide from the outset which usage data you want to track and ask Cityflow about it.
- The fleet arrives carrying your brand and, from then on, the operation is Cityflow's.
The full service is on electric bikes for flex living. If you want to see it for your building, talk to sales.
Frequently asked questions
Does residents' mobility count towards a building's sustainability?
Yes. A building's impact isn't measured only by what it consumes inside: how the people who live there get around every day also counts. An electric bike fleet included in the stay gives them an alternative to the car from day one.
What can a flex-living building show about its bikes?
The fleet with its brand on show, the fact that the service is included for all residents, the usage data for its fleet recorded by Cityflow and the public data for the Cityflow network, which can be cited naming Cityflow as the source.
Can I say how many emissions my building's fleet avoids?
Only if you measure it first with a method you can explain. What you can say today is that the building offers electric bikes included in the stay, and cite usage data with its source.
Who maintains the fleet?
Cityflow: maintenance, repairs, charging, insurance, GPS and resident support in their own language. The building team doesn't touch a bike.
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