A public bike share system for Vancouver was first proposed in 2008 through a feasibility study by TransLink.

A five-year, $6 million contract was signed by the city with Alta in July 2013, aiming for a spring 2014 launch for a system with 1,500 bicycles.

[4][5] The bankruptcy of bike-share system supplier Bixi in early 2014 pushed back the launch date, and the sale of Alta Bike Share to Motivate in October prompted the city to look for a new service provider the following year.

[4] A soft launch for founding members was held on July 20, 2016, with 260 bicycles and 23 stations open in Downtown Vancouver and part of the Fairview neighborhood, bounded by Arbutus Street to the west, 16th Avenue to the south, and Main Street to the east.

[6] On December 6, 2016, Mobi announced a corporate sponsorship with Shaw Communications, a Canadian telecommunications company.

[8] Mobi's fleet of 1,500 bicycles and its stations were built by Smoove, a French company that specializes in bike sharing systems.