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 [...]]]>

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