Quick Guide to Using GoShare in Taipei

Hey everyone,

I’m a foreigner who has been using GoShare (Gogoro’s scooter sharing program) for a while and I decided it would be a good idea to make a little guide on it and answer questions if anyone has them.

Signing Up

To sign up, you’ll need:

• An ARC (or APRC, or Taiwan Citizen ID)
• A Taiwan drivers license (or scooter license)

Any local drivers license is fine as a car license allows you to drive green plate (<50cc) scooters. I’ll talk about this more later. Notably, you’ll need a Taiwan license to sign up. You can’t use an international drivers license.

When you sign up, you’ll get a message that verification of your ID failed. You’ll just need to message GoShare support through the app so they can manually verify. They’ll ask you for the last 4 digits of your ID number and then you’ll be good to go! They speak english too.

Using the app

The app has a great english interface. The only sections only in Chinese are promotions and ads which aren’t super relevant anyway. Once your IDs are verified and you’ve added a payment method (foreign cards are ok too!) you’ll be able to immediately rent a scooter in your area. Your first ride is free too.

Notably, even if you have only provided a drivers license instead of a proper scooter license, you’ll technically be able to rent any vehicle through the app. Currently, there are 4 types of Gogoro available in Taipei:

• Gogoro 3 (white plate) $25 for the first 6 mins, $2.5/min after
• Gogoro 2 (white plate) $25 for the first 6 mins, $2.5/min after
• Gogoro VIVA MAX (white plate) $25 for the first 6 mins, $2.5/min after
• Gogoro VIVA (green plate) $15 for the first 6 mins, $2.5/min after

If you only have a drivers license and not a scooter license, you’re only technically legally permitted to rent/ride the VIVA. However, the app does let you rent whichever vehicle you want. It’s really obvious which vehicle you’re renting when you do it so don’t worry about grabbing the wrong one.

Renting a Scooter

You can select the scooter you want on the app and tap ‘reserve’ to hold it for 10 minutes. You won’t be charged for this time and there’s no penalty for changing your mind and cancelling before you rent. You can click the alarm button to make the scooter flash and beep to identify it. This is useful when the app makes it seem like the scooter is on one side of the street when it’s actually on the opposite.

The timer begins once you tap “Let’s Go”. At this point, I recommend immediately unlocking the seat and grabbing your helmet. Inside, you’ll find 2 helmets (head only, no visor), a cleaning cloth, and protective covers for your head. The helmets can sometimes smell kind of nasty from mildew. I hope they resolve that soon.

From there, pop on your helmet, have a seat, adjust your mirrors, put your phone in the holder (which has a wireless charger built-in!), retract the stand, and hold the brake while pressing “GO” to start. If you’re not sure where all the buttons are, there is a small tutorial animation in the app that locates them for you.

You can take the scooter really anywhere, but you can only return it within the service area. You can take it between service areas, meaning you could rent a scooter in Taipei and return it in Taoyuan (but you can’t drop it off between the two).

When you arrive, putting up the stand will automatically turn off the motor. Be sure to park in a legal public space or you will be fined. Don’t end the rental until you’ve taken your belongings out of the seat and returned the helmet, you won’t be able to unlock it after you’ve returned it like WeMo. End the rental in the app and you’re all set to go!

It will give you an option to take a photo of the license plate when you’re done. You’re not required to do this and I’ve never done it. I don’t really understand the function of it to be honest.

Challenges

In the app by your profile there is a “Challenges” button. I highly recommend signing up for a challenge (like ride 2 times or swap the battery 3 times) as it’s really easy and you’ll get a bunch of coupons for it. I rarely pay full price for my rentals since I have so many coupons built up!

Battery Swapping

You can swap the battery whenever you want at any GoStation. If the battery is 3 bars or below, you might even get a little reward for swapping it out. It’s kind of fun to do, so I do it when I can or when I’m going far out to ensure I have enough juice left.

That’s about all there is to it! Feel free to AMA in the comments and let me know if I’ve missed anything. I’m happy to go into more detail.