Dockless Bikeshare Service Launches in St. Louis, With City's Blessing

Dockless bikeshare companies LimeBike and Ofo launched operations on the streets of St. Louis this week, "placing a total of 1,500 bikes on edges of sidewalks and in other spots across the city — 750 each allowed initially under the city permits issued to the two firms," according to Mark Schlinkmann.

St. Louis is only now joining the bikeshare trend, so it's skipping the docked, municipally owned system already in place in other cities around the country. Instead, LimeBike and Ofo will offer their app-based mobility service, which allows users to start and end rides anywhere around the city.

According to an article reporting from the first day of operations, the city's weather gave the new systems a chilly reception.