Baqme Reviews 12

Terrible company. If you need to reach customer service, it's impossible.

I tried to end a ride, and the lock wasn't working; I wasn't able to reach customer service. and it took me one hour to and my own tools to fix it.

Of course, I was charged for the extra hours of usage (when I was fixing their bike), and they refused to give me the money back.

Incredible but true.

Recently visited Amsterdam for a family trip.

Booked a bike with BAQME.

The app showed the bike as having a fully charged battery so I chose it because I was biking a lot with family and my children.

When I got the bike, the battery worked properly for about one minute and then I felt the bike get sluggish.

I couldn’t return the bike because I had to meet family and friends and was short on time, so I decided to press on hoping the battery would kick in again.

It didn’t and my whole day was much tougher than expected cycling two children approx 17km over the day.

I complained to customer services about this and their response was that they cannot offer compensation because I continued to use the bike and I had purchased a day pass which makes their margins tight.

They acknowledged that I was short on time and couldn’t return the bike as being unfortunate- but that didn’t make a difference. I will get Zero compensation

What a shame! The hire service is an excellent and convenient proposition, but the customer service is awful.

I will not use this again and look for a local provider instead - plenty of them.

I’m a very dissatisfied customer.

Please avoid!

Used the service in Amsterdam. Superb service and customer care. Rented an ecargo bike for 4 days,
- registered and used the App with no issues at all
- Payment was instant and invoices arrived instantly
- BIKE lock / unlock worked smoothly! no issues at all. (needs GPS coverage, internet and Bluetooth to work)
- Purchased 1day pass and 3day pass. All went well. Used multiple bikes as planned. Battery lasted more than expected considering that we were two adults ~75kg each on average, on the bike.

- CUSTOMER SUPPORT >>> Superb. They replied to my questions within a few hours, when i used the chat. Even on a public holiday I got answers from them.
I read 1-2 super negative reviews below and this is "hilarious" >> WTH! The instructions could not be more clear.
I paid 20 EUR for a day pass (24hrs).
To return the bike at the same location is also communicated and forced by the App too! In selected cities like Amsterdam they have designated areas as the Municipality does not allow to leave bikes anywhere, let alone a CARGO bike.

In some cities it IS alowed to leave them anywhere you like but make sure you simply "READ" the information.

Keep up the good effort, super potential for the service. We want some more in the West side of Amsterdam

Be aware that you must return the bike to the same point of pickup which is counter intuitive and different than other bike sharing programs globally. We were not aware of this (nor the other local residents we asked). We were unable to reach support when we couldn't park the bike to terminate the ride. The FAQ says "You can end the ride in select zones. " which is not accurate and ambiguous.

Terrible experience. Prices are displayed in non transparent manner. I thought it was 15€ for a day and then they bill 35€. Would strongly advise to use different service: baqme are scammers

I used Baqme to help me move, as I did not want to use a car as I am based in Amsterdam.

The app:
I found using the app pretty straight forward, and I appreciated that there was a large enough fleet that it did not take me a lot of effort to find a bike nearby. They do require you to deposit 15 euros at a time on the app, which I would say is a little steep. Would prefer a model where you paid as you went, but this is the same for other similar apps like Uber. The app also requires Bluetooth to connect with the bike, so if you are cycling and are worried about battery life, make sure to turn Bluetooth off until you need to lock/end ride. You are asked to take a picture of the bike. I am not sure why, but I assume it is as proof that it has been returned. This is important to note, as if the bike may have any issues, they may try and claim that you are responsible for those issues. Might be an idea to take a picture of the bike beforehand if you spot something.

The cargo bike:
I did not have any issues with anything. It will go at a max of 26-27km an hour. The assisted pedaling worked well, and it was big enough to fit a couple of suitcases and plants. It would be an idea to take a rope with you if you plan on doing something similar, as the stuff can move around inside the cargo hold. It has an elevated space which can be used as a seat. Battery held up pretty decent, it was at about 40% when I was done after 1,5 hours. Keep in mind when picking a bike that it has a high battery percentage before you take the bike.

The price:
Cheaper than renting a car for sure, and looking at other rentals it seems to be slightly cheaper per hour (at the time of publishing it was about 6 euros per hour). If you were to need it for a day, I would recommend another service, as you could probably find something slightly cheaper for a longer period of time.
If I were to leave constructive criticism, I would say that they continue to charge you even when the bike is parked, which feels a bit greedy. You are therefore charged for your ride time AND you time parked. Still worthwhile service, 9 euros for 1,5h.
I could not find any other competition in this space, another company used to do the same, but im pretty sure baqme now has license to Amsterdam (exclusively?).

Overall positive experience. Will update if other experiences changes my relationship with this company.