Public transport bicycles in Barcelona
Thursday, 18 February 2010 14:45
administrator
The first time I visited Barcelona I was amazed to see rows of bicycles on the streets that were clearly part of a transport system. I assumed it was some kind of automated rental service, but when I looked into it I found they were actually an integral part of Barcelona's public transport. How cool is that? The service started back in 2007 and was immediately a huge success with the city's residents who pay 24 Euros a year and get to use the bicycles whenever they want. The bicycles are positioned in strategic places to cover various areas of the city and they can be picked up at one station and dropped off at another. So how do the authorities make sure people don't monopolise a bike for a long period of time? Simple, they are to be considered mediums of transport and not leisure vehicles as such a journey has a maximum length of 30 minutes, any exceeding time for a single bike ride is charged at 0.30€ for every half hour. Unfortunately this service is not available for tourists yet as a valid Barcelona address must be provided on registration.
