LUUP is the new thing I’m trying this week. If you haven’t heard it before, it is the e-bike services like UBike in Taipei, and it also has the e-scooter which you can use without a driver’s license and a helmet, as long as you pass a quick traffic exam in the app and verify your ID.
Their business model is smart than the others. Their bikes and scooters don’t require a physical post to lock or charge them. Do note they’re all electric powered, I wonder if the battery can auto recharge when they’re not in use? Not sure how do they do it but it’s so smart because now you can install the stations everywhere. LUUP basically just use tape or something to paint the grids for parking.
Around the area I live, it’s like every 5 minutes I can see a LUUP station. So I can almost always get one to ride. I used it to go to work several times this week, because they were running a promotion that you can rent it for 60 minutes for free and it’s unlimited during that time period.
I tried both the e-bike and the e-scooter and like the e-bike more. The experience was good with the bike itself, the condition of them were usually good, but I did have one bike that I couldn’t adjust the hight of the seat. As to the scooter, it’s not comfortable to me, especially if the road condition is bad, you’ll be more painful when you stand to ride on 20km/h.
The experience made me wonder if I should just get a bike but not rely on a service like this, since I do feel like to ride to work. I also noticed that people here use bicycles very often since moving to Tokyo, and the bike lanes between my home to the office are reliable enough, except it’s kinda annoying when cars park temporarily on the roadside where the bike lane locates.
I also wanted to use this opportunity to make myself be more familiar with their traffic rules, especially Japan is left-hand drive which is different than Taiwan, where I got my driver’s license. Most importantly, recognize the traffic signs and how to make a right turn. Once I’m familiar enough with those, I will probably be more comfortable to drive in Japan (I have never done it though).
Regarding the price, it’s not cheap when comparing to the bus and subway. LUUP charges 15 yen per minute plus a basic fee for 50 yen. So if I ride to work, it’s like 425 yen one way but the bus is just 210 yen. But it’s cheaper than taxi of course.
The highlight is definitely you can exercise a bit while going to work, or just purely use it as a way to exercise. Using e-bikes for exercise is cheating, but it’s better than no exercise at all.
The traffic conditions in Tokyo are better than Taipei, by all means, especially drivers are all more obedient to the traffic rules and speed limits. It feels safer and less air pollution. When I was in Taiwan, I’ve never used UBike for even once, I just didn’t feel safe and comfortable with it. So I will probably be happy in the LUUP for a while!
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