re: #253 Alephnaught
In Glasgow, it’s a phone app. (Although you can text.)
Bikes here are not docked for the most part, so cities are struggling with rented bikes being left in bizarre places, or parked in such numbers that people can’t walk on the sidewalks or enter buildings. My uni here finally had to require students to park the bikes in designated areas, because they were blocking the entrances to the classroom buildings.
There are at least four different bike rental companies here competing with one another, so there is a glut.