Get fit with Spanish bicycle renting programs
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Bicibur bikes in their docking station, just waiting for someone to take them for a ride!
Here’s a pretty cool idea that the Spanish Government came up with to both cut back on car pollution and keep people healthy at the same time: bicycle renting. Basically, bike “docking stations” like the one pictured above are starting to crop up all over Spanish cities. The idea is that a user can go to a docking station, swipe his ID card, and take a city-owned bike out for a ride. When the user is done with the bike, he can return it to any docking station in the city, eliminating the need to use a car to get from point A to point B.
Burgos recently implemented one of these systems (under the name “Bicibur”) and I think it’s actually a pretty ingenious idea. The cost of renting the bikes is really low — about two Euros for an ID card that unlocks the bikes and can be used for life – and the bike docking stations are pretty well-located within the city to allow users to pick up a bike at one location, drive it to their destination, and just leave it there without necessarily having to return it to its original location. In short, I’m pretty impressed with the program.
Still, I do see one small problem, at least in Burgos. Here, the bikes are really old and a tad on the crappy side. They generally work to get you from one side of the city to the other, but they don’t seem to be very well maintained. I suppose it’s too early to tell if the city is going to let the bikes deteriorate even more or step up and make repairs.
Another slight problem with this system is that I don’t usually see too many people using it (at least not here in Burgos). That leads me to something that we can debate in this post’s comments: if your city had a program like this one, would you use it? Why or why not? Please post your thoughts in the comments below.
Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com
I think this is actually a pretty good idea… I would probably use something like this. Of course, if you were REALLY into biking, you’d probably prefer your on bike rather than a “crapy” bike, like you state. But still, to use on off days, it might be worth it.
This seems to be happening all around the world it’s great to see so many countries doing it. I’m excited for it to truly pick up. We should have rental units across the entire city at designated bike path entries.
@Alan – You’re probably right, if you were a “diehard” biker, you would want a better bike.
@bbrian017 – Does this happen in the city where you live? In the USA I don’t see it much, at least not in the city I’m from… of course, maybe I am just from too small a city in the USA.
Has anyone else seen this type of “bike rental” program around? If so, where?
Hey Chris… It’s cold the majority of the year where I’m from but I simply used Google and searched bicycle rental and got great results.
I only know it was happening around the world because I seen it on our local news and now your blog. I think the closets one to us in Vancouver!
Perhaps the uniqueness about this article is it’s the government that’s funding it in Spain.
I would like to say I would use the service but I don’t think I would. If I did it would be spontaneous and as a side activity.
I own a 2009 KIA Sportage I don’t bike anywhere.
@bbrian017 – Yeah, it does seem interesting to me too that this is funded by governmental programs in Spain. Of course, national/local government funds a lot of stuff in Spain — it’s pretty impressive. And I’d have to say that I’m kinda like you — I don’t have a car in Spain, but I use public transportation to go basically everywhere… I just can’t get over the idea of “arriving to work sweaty” after a bike ride there, or “going grocery shopping and falling off the bike and watching as my newly purchased bananas roll around on the sidewalk.” That’s just my take on it though.
When I lived in Toulouse they had a similar scheme. It was fantastic – although the bikes were a bit heavy and unwieldy. However, as they matched the scheme with cycle paths across the city it was perfect – and popular – for getting around.
I’ve seen similar in Paris (but no-one on them.)
At the moment I’m in Seville – where they have a similar set-up – but unfortunately the docking stations don’t extend to where I live. Otherwise I’d use them all the time….cheap, easy, good for the environment, don’t have to carry a heavy bike lock in your handbag etc etc!
@Abi – Good point about not having to carry a heavy bike lock. The system also avoids bike storage. In fact, I have friends who say they prefer this system to owing a bike because, if they had their own bike, they would have to take it up to their apartment in the elevator every time they were done with it to ensure it isn’t stolen or tampered with at night. So I guess that could be a benefit as well… “free storage.”
Its is a really nice post. I found a lot of useful information in here,This seems to be happening all around the world it’s great to see so many countries doing it. I’m excited for it to truly pick up.Thanks for the sharing.
I think this is one smart program based on very good intentions on part of city government. The question remains: What if I rent a bike, and take it for a ride and when I leave it in the other city it needs so much of repair or has stolen parts, that its almost useless for anyone else who wants to rent it in future.
I suppose there should be human intervention for atleast checking bike conditions.
For the question of whether people will use it or not, well, just make sure that gas prices are so high, that most of the people have no other options and you’ll see these bikes become celebrities