Three Quick Steps to BikeSampa

My last post reminded me of the challenge I encountered in May of 2013 when I wanted to make use of the BikeSampa program in Sao Paulo.  From the BikeSampa website, registration appears rather straight forward, but the requirement of having a local phone number threw me for a loop.

Luckily, I was able to complete the process in three quick steps(*see note below):

Step 1 - Acquire an unlocked cell phone
After almost a year out of service, my Blackberry was pushed back into duty when I brought it with me to Brazil.  I consulted a few videos on YouTube to learn how to do the trick, then $8 and five minutes later and my phone was ready to use.  

Step 2 - Purchase Brazilian SIM card 
These are readily available and cheap, about $5 for the chip itself at any number of retailers.  When the phone is powered back on with the SIM card installed, a text messages provides the assigned cell phone number.  Technically, I think the process could stop here, because the phone doesn't actually have to be activated to complete the registration at the BikeSampa website, only a valid phone number is required. But the last step will allow the phone to be used to actually access the bikes, so it's worth doing.

Step 3 - Register chip with mobile phone provider
I bought a chip from the Brazilian provider TIM and their customer service line even had support in English.  All that's needed is the number of your passport and a few other details and the phone is activated. The first time I did this there was a two hour delay until the phone was actually ready to be used, but I think the current setup is pretty much instantaneous.

If you have a smart phone and international data plan you can also download the BikeSampa app which is very easy way to get a bikes.  To do this, you still need to follow steps 1 and 2 because the registration  requires a phone number.  The app itself is very easy to use and there is an English version available.

Alternatively, you can use the activated cell phone to withdraw a bike by calling the number on the station placard, pressing the station and bike numbers, and waiting for the bike to be released.  After that, it's happy biking on the concrete jungle of Sao Paulo!

*In all actuality, my first attempt at accessing BikeSampa took me closer to 10 steps, mostly because I didn't know which steps were required and doing them out of order.  For instance, I first purchased the SIM chip but didn't realize it needed to be unlocked or my phone needed to be registered.