THE WAY TO GO ABOUT THE CITY BIKE

Bike rentals have been gaining an increased popularity

Problem-free commuting to work or school without  worrying about traffic jams?  A city tour without wondering where to leave your bike?  It is all possible with unmanned urban-bike rental systems. This offer was showcased in Targi Kielce by the international Egis group - a complex projects manager in, inter alia, transport infrastructure and urban development .  

 - Systems of this kind have successfully been used in Szczecin, Bydgoszcz and Bielsko-Biala. Within a year they have recorded more than 1 million rentals.  More than 50,000 people have used the schemes.  - says Marcin Jeż, BikeU director for development; the company implements in unmanned bike rentals systems in Poland.  - When the rental system in Bydgoszcz started, one bike was rented up to 20 times a day.  The numbers show a great the demand for such services.  The city-bikes rental systems popularity is increasing which is in line with Pole's growing interest in two-wheelers as well as healthy lifestyle craze.  Experience gathered in different cities of the world, where unmanned rental systems have already operated indicates that local inhabitants regard the system an alternative way of commuting to work or school and avoiding traffic jams and parking hassle.    

 The rental operation scheme is simple: a few dozen bike stations are located in many parts of the city. You can rent a bike in one place and then easily return in another.  In order to use the system you need to register via SMS or on a website and pay 20 PLN; the pre-paid top-up can be used within 4 years.  You jut pin-in your personal code and already rent a bike - it takes just a few seconds.  A special electric lock releases the bike you have chosen and ... off you go.  The first 20 minutes is offered free, every consecutive hour of your ride costs just 1 PLN.  Bikes can be rented 24/7.  A special application can keep be used to check how many bikes are available at a particular station.

 - In every city where we installed our system, female students were the first users. Then their colleagues and friends also started using bike-services.  Then this type of city-cycling became more appealing also to older users - adds Marcin Jeż.  - This means that the unmanned city bike rental can activate many residents.  What they find important is freedom of choice - they decide where and when to leave the bike.  Ladies appreciate the bicycle models used in the system -they praise hassle-free chain construction and have a place for luggage up to 50 kg.