October 14, 2019 - Just over two months ago, the City of Split, in cooperation with Split Parking, launched a public bicycle system in the city - and the results indicate that this mode of transportation certainly has room for further development.
Namely, between mid-July and the end of September, a total of 2,886 bike rentals were made, with locals accounting for as much as 60.9 percent. More than half of the rentals (or 1865) were made in September alone, recording three times or 200% more rentals than August.
When it comes to the number of registered users, there are currently 1400 of which 52.6 percent are local. The most frequent location to rent bikes is the station on the Riva, followed by Stari plac, Spinut and Split 3, and Sukoišanska, Kampus, Žnjan, and next to Joker.
Eight stations have been set up so far, with 50 bikes available - 20 electric and 30 classic. Split Parking said they were satisfied with the results and that the figures clearly show that there is interest in this mode of transport.
“From this short period and the pilot project, we can conclude that our fellow citizens have identified bicycles as part of the urban mobility system. We offered them an alternative and in a short time, they started using it. It is not realistic to expect that Split will become Amsterdam.
We do not have that topography or mentality, but it is a cheaper, faster and more environmentally friendly way to get around the city. We are preparing documentation based on where we will place a significant number of bicycles and stations in the next year.
Of course, Split needs to continue to develop bicycle paths and the entire cycling infrastructure, which will make this service, above all, even safer, better quality, and acceptable to an increasing number of users. We have a long way to go in changing the habits and dominance of driving cars, and getting used to and respecting bicycles in traffic, but we are headed in that direction and the first results are encouraging. Next year will be followed by significant investment and organizational challenges for our company,” said Marko Bartulić, director of Split Parking.
By the end of October, a new contingent of 32 bikes (20 classic and 12 electric) should arrive in Split, as well as four new stations worth around 700,000 kuna financed by Split Parking. Next year, the plan is to set up several dozen new terminals to meet the stated goal that every district has at least one station and that bicycles are easily accessible to everyone, said Split Parking.
Nextbike operates the system, and Split is one of 20 cities in Croatia that has implemented it so far. No major damage has been reported yet, and cases of missing bicycles have been reported several times, most often when a user leaves the bicycle in a location other than the check-out location.
Two bicycle thefts were also reported, one of which was found, and another was filed against an unknown perpetrator. Additional bicycle protection will also be provided by GPS. In cooperation with repairers, regular changes are made to the codes on the bike padlocks, stations are inspected, the bikes are inspected and switched as necessary, and any irregularities found are recorded and corrected.
The City of Split is one of the partners in the EU project 'REMEDIO', from the INTERREG MEDITERAN program, which aims to encourage the use of low-carbon transport, to reduce road congestion and CO2 emissions in traffic.
EU funding for the first year of operation was provided through the project. During this period, users can enjoy the system for 30 minutes a day for free, with mandatory registration or an activated account. User account activation is required for security and to ensure the availability of the system to a large number of users while minimizing possible misuse.
Registration is free of charge, and the accoun activation costs 5 kuna and is valid for the entire Nextbike system anywhere in the world, while the stated amount remains available in the user's account for all additional rides. The cost of using the bike is 5 kuna every half hour for a classic bike or 10 kuna for an electric bike.
The subscription price is 200 kuna, valid for one year and includes an unlimited number of free 30-minute bike rides, while users ‘pay as you go' for extra rides.
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