# PubliBike (Zone 2) — user reviews

> 41 indexed App Store user reviews of PubliBike (Zone 2) by PubliBike AG, rated 2.50/5 from 25 ratings.

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/publibike-zone-2/id1273769305/reviews
- App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/publibike-zone-2/id1273769305.md
- Rating breakdown: 5★ 7 · 4★ 2 · 3★ 1 · 2★ 2 · 1★ 13

## Newest reviews (15 of 41)

### 2/5 — Buggy

*2024-10-23*

Previous app started to crash at launch. Newest version does not recognise that Bluetooth is on.

### 2/5 — Bikes eher für Kurzstrecke geeignet, Pricing unklar

*2024-05-11*

Für eine 30 km Strecke konnten wir mit dennVelos auf flacher Strecke einigermassen fahren. Die kleinen Reifen tun ihr übriges.

Über die Josten pro Stunde oder was z.B. eine 4 stündige Leihe kostet gab es keinen Hinweis.

In Lausanne haben wir uns schwer getan, 3 Räder gleichzeitig für eine Leihe zu finden….

Sehr viel room for improvement vorhanden in der Hardware aber auch Software.

**Developer response:** Bikesharing ist für Kurzstrecken in der Stadt vorgesehen (das ist aber auch in diversen deutschen Städten so). Es gibt einen Spezialtarif Tageskarte für Ausflügler und es gibt andere Anbieter (mit grossen Rädern) für (Mehr-)Tagesausflüge. Die Tarife sind bei der Auswahl des Abos präzise aufgeführt. Beste Grüsse von deinem PubliBike + Velospot Team

### 1/5 — Cost me 230 CHF :-(

*2022-04-12*

The app doesn’t clearly show the cost per ride or if your annual subscription has expired - these are hidden in the menu system. Not realising my subscription had expired I got a surprise bill of 230 CHF for 1 month. Publibike refused to refund this amount. So be warned - you can get hit by a large bill unexpectedly. I wish I’d put this money towards a new bike instead of using publibike. Another issue is that the app needs to be closed and opened sometimes to correctly show the number of bikes at a station. My final complaint is that it doesn’t show the remaining battery charge on a ebike - I often got half way into a ride and the battery died. Apart from these complaints , it is a great app and if they fixed these design errors I would give it 5 stars.

**Developer response:** Thank you for your feedback.
 - When you subscription nears the end of the year, you receive an email informing you of that fact and if you do nothing, that you will continue with B-Quick (no annual fee, but pay-per-use). In the app you see all informations about your recent rides, including costs.
 - When you click on the icon of a station, and there on details, you see the updated details of all the (e-)bikes at that station.
 - at the station, the battery charge of each e-bike is shown, but spring is coming, so the e-bike will be much more fun.
Best regards, your PubliBike team

### 1/5 — Es reicht. STOP.

*2021-06-18*

Es reicht. Liebe CH Post AG: bitte einmal komplett das PubliBike – Team auswechseln, und dann gewissenhaft neu aufsetzen. Wenn man diese App braucht, funktioniert sie nicht. Immer wieder. So schade um das tolle Konzept. Aber es braucht halt schon auch ein bisschen Qualitätssicherung – und nicht nur Kunden-Beruhigungstexte.

**Developer response:** Guten Morgen
Gesten gab es über 5'000 erfolgreiche Ausleihen mit dem iPhone, so schlecht kann das Produkt nicht sein.
Wenn der Kunde etwas nicht hinkriegt, dann braucht es halt schon konkretere Fehlerbeschreibungen, über unseren Chat erreichst du das Team und kannst die Fehler präzise schildern.
Hier gibt es als Erstes ein kurzes Video (30s), das zeigt, wie man das Velo öffnen kann: https://bit.ly/3dWlGYz.
Beste Grüsse. Dein PubliBike Team

### 1/5 — swindle

*2021-06-18*

The idea of ​​renting bicycles is great, but every time we use them to go somewhere, I end up paying 20 chf or even 50 chf.

**Developer response:** Hello, thank you for your feedback. The max you can pay for a rental is CHF 20.- or CHF 40.- for an e-bike. There is a fix amount for the 30 first minutes, and then you pay CHF 0.10 per extra minute.

### 1/5 — Immer wieder enttäuschend

*2021-01-06*

Das System PubliBike krankt an zu vielen Stellen. Ich habe es nach längerer Zeit mal wieder ausprobieren wollen in der Hoffnung dass es sich gebessert hat. Fazit: erstes ausgeliehenes ebike war kaputt, daher musste ich auf ein 2. wechseln und somit die 4.90 Gebühr 2x zahlen. Support ist auch wenig hilfreich, denn man chattet andauernd mit anderen Kunden statt mit einem richtigen Support Mitarbeiter.

Edit: Das Angebot der Rückvergütung wirkt jetzt leider auch nur wie PR, denn als ich den „Kundendienst“ damals deswegen angeschrieben habe wurde mir genau wegen der 120s Regel gesagt, dass das nicht möglich ist.

**Developer response:** Guten Tag Peter, Wenn du das E-Bike innerhalb von 120 Sek. an die Start-Station zurück bringst, dann bezahlst du nichts. Der Kundendienst wird dir aber das erste E-Bike auch gerne rückvergüten. Mit Guuru Chat nimmst du Kontakt auf mit erfahrenen Vielfahrern oder mit unseren Mitarbeitenden. Beste Grüsse, dein PubliBike Team

### 1/5 — Katastrophe - Finger weg!!

*2020-12-18*

Ich habe der App mehrfach eine Chance gegeben. Jedes Mal ist es eine absolute Katastrophe. Entweder der Motor funktioniert nicht oder das Schloss macht Probleme.So oder so man endet als Kunde zahlend am Ende für einen nicht funktionierenden Service.

Update nach Entwicklerantwort:
Man muss sich nur die anderen Rezensionen und verschiedene andere Platzformen anschauen - ich bin nicht alleine & es scheint eher die gängige Praxis des „Nicht-Funktionierens“ zu sein, als andersherum. Aber wenigstens ist die Marketing-Abteilung aktiv, wenn auch schon die Entwicklung schlecht ist 👍🏻🤦🏼‍♂️

**Developer response:** Guten Tag Jambalahja, es tut uns leid zu hören, dass es für dich nicht funktioniert. Es gibt aber Tausende von erfolgreichen Ausleihen pro Tag, E-Bikes laufen gut, das Schloss öffnet sich brav. Hier gibt es ein kurzes Video (30s), das zeigt, wie man das Velo öffnen kann: https://bit.ly/3dWlGYz.
Und wenn der Motor klemmt: Einfach innerhalb von 120s an die Start-Station zurückbringen, dann kostet es nichts und das nächste E-Bike nehmen.
Beste Grüsse, dein PubliBike Team

### 1/5 — Veränderte Preise ohne Warnung/Hinweis

*2020-09-20*

Benutze PubliBike‘s eigentlich nur wenn ich viel Besuch habe und nicht genug Velos. Nun hat sich die Preisstruktur ohne Vorwarnung verändert und man kann mit einem Abo nur noch ein einziges Fahrrad gleichzeitig kostenlos ausleihen. Dies ist besonders ärgerlich, da die Fahrräder häufig nicht funktionieren und man es erst nach mehreren Versuchen ein funktionierendes Velo findet - das kostet jetzt 5 CHF pro Versuch. Für mich ist das Abo durch diese Veränderung nicht mehr empfehlenswert geworden. Schade PubliBike.

**Developer response:** Guten Tag, natürlich haben wir alle Kunden über die Änderungen informiert, bestehende Bezahl-Abos liefen regulär weiter. Wenn ein Velo nicht korrekt funktioniert, dann kann man es innerhalb von 120 Sekunden an die Startstation zurückbringen und bezahlt überhaupt nichts. Beste Grüsse, dein PubliBike Team

### 2/5 — Carte non fonctionnelle

*2020-02-25*

La carte affiche un écran bleu, l’app perd tout son intérêt

### 1/5 — Absoluter Reinfall

*2020-02-23*

Das entsperren der PubliBikes funktioniert in ungefähr 98% der Fällen nicht, kostet unnötig viel Zeit und ist absolut unzuverlässig. Dieses Abo würde ich keinesfalls weiterempfehlen, es ist wirklich eine absolute Katastrophe. Wer auch immer dafür verantwortlich ist das dies so miserable läuft, es muss dringendst verbessert werden, denn die Idee ist an sich super und die Bikes(wenn sie mal funktionieren) sind klasse.

### 1/5 — Bluetooth error

*2020-01-22*

App consistently gives me error message that Bluetooth is not turned on, when it is. I e removed and reinstalled a bunch of times. Really frustrating and unstable app, especially when you plan to use a bike for transport and then you can’t, sort of puts me off the whole bike sharing concept. This app must be reliable or people are over it!

**Developer response:** Hi! We are sorry to hear, that you have Bluetooth problems. Apple introduced in iOS 13 a new Bluetooth privacy setting. You need to give permission to the PubliBike App through iPhone Settings > Privacy > Bluetooth. Best regards, your PubliBike team.

### 1/5 — App in combination with lock does not work

*2020-01-14*

The first time I rent with the bike one. I could not left the bike and lock it again with the app. The hotline does not work either in the evening and I left bike unlock.  Catastrophic!!!

**Developer response:** Hi! Sorry that your experience with us was not so good. Finally did you find a solution with our customer service? To lock the bike you don't need the app, you just have to close the lock manually until the click ;) Kind regards. Your PubliBike Team

### 1/5 — Doesn’t work

*2020-01-09*

A great concept. Unfortunately it doesn’t work. It’s not reliable. Try it but don’t count on having a bike when you need it. I just tried to unlock 15 bikes at a station of 20. None worked. There were no other people around so I guess the community gets used to the fact that there are unlockedable bicycles standing around in Zurich!!

**Developer response:** Hello Dominique, Thank you for your message. You are right, people should try PubliBike! Did the smartphone app display the availability of these bikes? You may want to watch this short film (30 seconds) https://bit.ly/3dWlGYz to compare, if you did everything correctly. Best regards, your PubliBike team

### 1/5 — Needs clearer UI for bike return

*2020-01-07*

BEWARE: this app looks like the kind of bike share where you pick up and drop off a bike anywhere, but it isn’t! I found out the hard way that you have to drop off bikes at their special stations, which are hard to notice because it’s not like normal station-based bike shares that have physical hardware to lock the bikes into. If you don’t do this, your bike isn’t locked, and someone else can go take it. At best you get charged 40 CHF for a whole day’s use. At worst (I’d that person runs away with the bike) you get charged 3000 CHF to replace the bike!!!

The app should show you what stations look like and how to return bikes.

**Developer response:** Hello! Sorry that your experience with us was not so good. For explanations, you can find for example videos on YouTube. And don't hesitate to call our customer service, they will help you for sure. Kind Regards. Your PubliBike Team

### 2/5 — Gute Idee mit vielen Schwierigkeiten

*2019-11-05*

Die Funktionalität der App muss definitiv überarbeitet werden. Zum Beispiel kann man nicht auf die schnelle zwischen normalen Bikes und E-Bikes unterscheiden. Das ein- und auszoomen auf der Karte ist mit einer Hand nicht möglich - Vergleich mit Google Maps.   Und die größte Hürde ist einfach das entsperren eines Bikes oder EBikes, denn zu 50 % der Zeit funktioniert es gar nicht und man verschwendet viel Zeit um überhaupt ein Bike entsperren zu können; am Ende muss man dann doch noch zu Fuß gehen. Das alles führt zu einer Bad Experience.

**Developer response:** Hallo, Danke für deine Nachricht. Feedbacks sind für uns sehr wichtig. Bitte entschuldige die Umstände. Grundlegend testen wir gerade ein Softwareupdate und hoffen, dass dieses nach den Tests erfolgreich ausgerollt werden kann. Danke für deine Geduld! Liebe Grüsse. Dein PubliBike Team

## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated)

### 1/5 — Doesn’t work

*2026-03-22*

Just tried to use this app in Bern and it was useless. Had me pay to register and none of the three bikes I tried worked. Just scanned and beeped and did nothing. I would like to get my deposit refunded

### 1/5 — Pessimi

*2024-08-17*

Non sono solito perdere tempo con recensioni positive o negative che siano, ma in questo caso è doveroso.
Ho pagato l’abbonamento perché prendo ogni giorno le bici, soldi buttati!
1. In tutto il Ticino ci saranno si e no 10 bici elettriche contate.
2. Almeno 1 bici su 3 non funziona (batteria o problemi vari) quindi inutilizzabile.
3. L’altro giorno facendo il mio percorso di routine (10 minuti di pedalata), poso la bicicletta in stazione e cosa succede? La sera la ritrovo lì che non si era correttamente bloccata e quindi ho dovuto pagare 10 ore di utilizzo. Il punto qual è? Cerco di contattare l’assistenza senza MAI, MAI ricevere alcuna risposta.

Regalo 1 stella per l’idea green, per il resto non ne vale neanche mezza.

### 1/5 — Non ci sono bici in giro

*2024-07-17*

L’idea è buona, il problema principale è che ci sono pochissime bici in giro (almeno a Losanna) e spesso sono anche mal funzionanti. Sarebbe opportuno aggiungere più biciclette

### 1/5 — Don’t get this app unless you like being frustrated

*2024-05-27*

Wanted to rent a bike in Lugano. It took over twenty minutes for them to verify my debit card, then when I tried to finally pay they said it hadn’t been confirmed despite entering the code prompted by my bank. Terrible app, I expected better Switzerland…

### 1/5 — Update = App stürzt sofort beim Öffnen ab

*2024-05-19*

Wurde zu einem Update aufgefordert, da die App sonst bald nicht mehr funktioniert.
Update gemacht: jetzt gehts gar nicht mehr.
Also doch laufen, Schade

### 1/5 — Expensive

*2024-03-03*

The most expensive public bike service I’ve ever seen in my life. Which is why no one uses it in case you haven’t noticed.

**Developer response:** Thank you for taking the time to give us feedback. We strive to provide the best possible service to all our customers. We are sorry that we did not meet your expectations. We are always looking for ways to improve our service and your feedback is therefore valuable to us. Your PubliBike Team

### 1/5 — Funktioniert leider nicht

*2023-10-01*

Entsperren des Schloss funktioniert nach pausieren nicht . Erscheint ständige Fehlermeldung. Wenn man die anderen Rezensionen liest, erkennt man , dass das wohl ständig passiert. Kundenservice wenig hilfreich.

### 1/5 — Scammed

*2023-08-22*

I picked up a bike for a quick ride of about 20 mins and left it in the designated area. A day later I get a notification the bike has been out for an whole day and to return it. I was reassured by the app and sign on the return area that if it has been returned properly there is nothing to worry about. Then I get charged 50 chf in the middle of the night. Customer service has not yet responded even though it has been several days. Stole my money and ran. I will be soon doing a chargeback if they do not respond. This is ridiculous.

**Developer response:** Hello, Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry that you had a negative experience. Unfortunately, we are currently facing an increase in requests, which is why it may take up to 10 days to process your request. Best regards, your PubliBike Team

### 1/5 — Terrible Service & Terrible App

*2022-07-15*

We installed this app to be able to use it in Bern. 
Technically you use it, and it should have 1 clear button to END the ride. It just showed paused, and after reading through the Q&A we realized that paused changes to end if not used. That is the stupidest thing ever. 
We didn’t know about it and we saw that our paused bike is for more than an our, so we tried unlocking it and locking again, so it locks properly may be. And we got charged for an hour and some change. And in reality we had used it only for a minute. I am sure the tech support can see how many minutes the bike was ridden. 
Even if you are tempted to ride these bikes, I would highly recommend against it. Rather, lime scooters are much better options.

**Developer response:** Hello
We are sorry to hear, that you expected another way, our bikesharing works.
We have stations, where you have to return the bikes to.
We have physical locks, that you need to close with your hand.
In the app, we inform you about your open rides.
We have no client "tans149" in our system.
Best regards, your PubliBike Team

### 1/5 — Garbage

*2022-06-20*

App keeps signing out, disables password managers, and then imposes arbitrary 5 minute delay before you can use it. Ridiculous, I’ll just use one of the many better competitors who are not complete jerks.

EDIT: The developer response makes no sense. If instead of jumping to conclusions you took a bug report, maybe the app wouldn’t be rated 2/5. Ridiculous to assume that everyone who has a problem must be doing something wrong.

**Developer response:** Hello, you can use our system with 2 mobile phones. If you add a third phone, the oldest phone is getting disconnected and then you have to wait again 5 minutes.
Please don't share your account, PubliBike accounts are personal.
We gladly analyse your case, give us your real name: https://www.publibike.ch/de/publibike/contact
Best regards, your PubliBike Team

## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated)

### 5/5 — Super! works perfectly

*2025-05-21*

easy and intuitive to use

### 5/5 — Bike lost

*2022-07-28*

I lost a bike a month ago because of my own fault and the support team put a lot of effort to find the bike. They are very proffesional.
At the end, they found it and returned to the station without having to pay the bike.
Don’t forget to lock your bikes ;)

**Developer response:** Hi there
Thank you for your nice comment.
Yes, it makes us happy to find the bikes again, when they got lost.
Best regards, your PubliBike team

### 5/5 — Stabile auf das Nötige reduzierte App

*2021-02-15*

Habe durchweg gute Erfahrungen mit PubliBike gemacht

**Developer response:** Guten Tag, vielen Dank für dein positives Feedback. Es freut uns, dass du zufrieden bist.
Beste Grüsse, dein PubliBike Team

### 5/5 — It’s pretty lit ngl

*2019-09-18*

Nah fr tho it’s worthhhh

**Developer response:** Hello! Thanks for the 5 stars :) Kind regards from the PubliBike team

### 5/5 — Good customer support but implementation is needs work

*2019-04-02*

Update: changed from 1 star review to 5 star because of the good customer support. Still, take the time to educate yourself on how to use the service. 

I used the app to unlock a bike, but it didn’t unlock so I moved to the next bike. That one unlocked... then I rode it to get breakfast and back. Apparently, the first bike that never unlocked, unlocked after I left or something because now the bike shows that I’ve had it rented for 48 hours. I emailed them yesterday (they sent me an email asking me to return the bike after 20 hours) trying to figure out what to do but didn’t get a response within a few hours so I called instead. After finding someone who spoke English, she informed me that I would not be charged (this is when the meter showed 24 hours) and that someone from their bike recovery team would call me shortly. Well, no one called and now I’m getting worried because: 48 hours X 60 minutes X 0.10/minute is 288 CHF. I really hope they don’t end up changing me that because of buggy software. Looking at the app, it wasn’t very clear to me that I had still had a bike rented until after I got the email from them. It’s not like lime or bird scooters where you have to use the app to lock the bike when you’re done with it. Instead, you have to use a manual mechanism on the bike itself (which I did for the bike I rode). There’s no reason to look at the app once you’ve done this as the screen on the bike shows a check box. Anyway, it would have been nice to get a notification on my phone informing me that another bike was rented so that I could run down and check to see if there was one there that was unlocked. I’ll update this review once they contact me (I hope it’s soon as I’m leaving the country tomorrow). Renter beware! You can rent up to 5 bikes on the same phone. Besides the crazy experience of inadvertently unlocking another bike, I really did love the ebikes themselves. I zipped to old town really fast, and while others complained that you can’t park these bikes just anywhere (there are designated places), I think that’s actually a good thing (keeps the streets neat and tidy).

**Developer response:** Hello! Thanks for the 5 stars :) We are happy to read that you love our bikes! Kind regards from the PubliBike team

### 4/5 — Fonctionnel !

*2022-02-23*

Suppression de mon avis précédent.

**Developer response:** Bonjour, désolée que ton expérience avec notre service n'a pas été à la hauteur de tes espérances. Nous sommes en train de travailler sur une nouvelle mise à jour et cela devrait régler les points mentionnés. Merci pour ta patience. Ton équipe PubliBike

### 4/5 — Perfect for Bern

*2018-10-07*

Very happy to see expansion of service outside Altstadt. Very convenient and generally well run. Should have reward incentive for reporting abandoned/stolen bikes like I did today! :)

### 4/5 — Awesome app

*2018-09-25*

I love the app and the concept for the bikes. However, I don’t like that you have to return at a specific bike stand in order to not be charged. Byrd, and lime in the states you can drop the scooter or bike off anywhere which is very convenient for the user.

### 3/5 — Best public bikes and expensier

*2024-09-27*

Ir is really expensive but I‘vê Never Seen that Qualität in other places.

### 3/5 — Overpriced

*2019-04-08*

Since Switzerland deactivated ( lime - Obike ) Public bike came with new rules and high prices.

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-10.*