Apply to join the alliance.

MRA is built for independent rental operators — people who actually own the shop, check the bikes, know the roads and answer the phone when something goes wrong. We’re looking for owner-led rental businesses, not franchises or aggregators.

No hard numbers. A tightly run five-bike operation can be a better fit than a much larger one — craft over scale. That said, we have to see enough real, in-the-wild experience to judge the operation honestly, so brand-new pre-launch businesses are usually a “reapply once you’ve had a season under your belt” rather than a no.

Possibly fine. MRA isn’t territory-based — two genuinely good shops can coexist in the same city without being competitors in the aggregator sense. Riders benefit from having a choice. What we won’t do is let the bar slip in order to fit more members in.

Yes. MRA is explicitly global — the founding cohort is being built from Las Palmas to Tokyo and everywhere in between. Time zones make working sessions a little more creative, but geography isn’t a filter; operational quality and reputation are.

Two things, in this order. First, real operational quality: fleet condition, handover process, insurance, how you handle something going wrong on a Sunday afternoon. Second, a strong public reputation with riders — your reviews across Google, TripAdvisor and similar platforms are usually the clearest signal. We don’t publish a hard threshold, but a rider’s trust transfers between members, so every member has to already be trusted by their own riders.

No. Every application is reviewed personally by founding members, and we keep MRA small on purpose. Some applicants are invited in right away, some are asked to reapply later, and some are not a fit. In every case we reply with a reason — and often with what would change our answer.

We audit annually, and members hold each other accountable in between — one weak link weakens the chain. In practice, we’d raise a concern privately first and usually it’s solved there. If nothing changes, the membership ends. We’d rather lose a member than lose the meaning of the badge.

To show up. MRA isn’t a badge you buy — it’s a working alliance. Members are expected to contribute to shared SOPs and contracts, help the next operator avoid the mistake they just made, host the occasional rider from another city, and treat the group the way you’d want the group to treat you. If you’d rather stay invisible and just pay a fee, MRA isn’t the right home.

Light, but not zero. Working sessions run roughly once a month (usually an hour), plus ad-hoc exchanges as things come up — a rider asking about bikes in your city, a question about an insurer, a contract template someone just used to win a dispute. If you want to contribute more, there’s always more. But the minimum is real — if you can’t show up at all, MRA isn’t the right home.

Yes. When a rider asks one member about bikes in another member’s city, they’re handed off to the right shop — not sent to a search engine. There’s no commission, no finder’s fee, and no platform between you. Just peers doing the right thing by the rider. It quickly becomes one of the most useful parts of the alliance.

No. MRA doesn’t take a cut of bookings, doesn’t sit between you and the rider, and doesn’t sell leads. The only money that changes hands between us is the annual membership. We’re an alliance of operators — not another platform taking commission from them.

Yes, once you’re accepted — on your site, in your shop, and in your rider handover. The badge is the smallest thing the alliance gives you, but it’s also the most public: it tells a rider “this shop is held to the same standard,” and it only means something because every other member has earned it too.

Founding membership is complimentary for year one. After that it’s €499 per year. There are no revenue share, commission or referral fees between members.

A founding member reads your application and takes a proper look at your public reviews, your site and (if relevant) your handover process. If there’s a potential fit, we schedule a short call so we can meet each other properly before anything is decided.

Within about two weeks — yes, not yet, or not a fit — with a reason either way. If we go quiet longer than that, nudge us at hello@mralliance.org.