Mladen Trinajstić writes for novilist.hr about the plans to install the network for charging and the rentals of the electric bicycles (e-bikes) throughout the Krk Island: in Vrbnik, Baška, Malinska, Dobrinj, Punat, Krk, Omišalj and Njivice one charging station each will be built. The network will be built thanks to the efforts of all seven local communities on the island and support by the Ministry of tourism and The Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund. The modern e-bike sharing system which has been developed for a while is a part of the ambitious strategic plan to improve electromobility on the island, also supported by all local communities, and financed by the Ministry of tourism as well.
During this spring the first charging stations will be built, and after that, the sophisticated software solution for the rental of the e-bikes will also be installed. The software will provide an oversight feature, where the position of each e-bike will be monitored using GPS - one of the features will be automatic locking of the e-bike if and when attempts are made of taking it across the Krk bridge, to the mainland. The entire e-bike sharing system on the island will be created by Croatian experts, using Croatian technology, and even the e-bikes themselves will be "Made in Croatia". Although some of the financing comes from already mentioned sources, the municipalities on Krk decided to give parts of their budgets towards the creation of this system, including the purchase of the actual e-bikes which are to be rented out in the future. Once the system is fully functional each of the charging stations will have 10 e-bikes ready to be rented, 24 hours a day 365 days a week, with the option to return the e-bike at any of the charging stations, not just the one where you rented it from.
The locations for the charging stations have already been selected, and in the next few weeks, the construction in Krk, Punat, Baška, Vrbnik, Malinska, Njivice and Klimno are supposed to start. The prices of the future rentals have not been finalized yet, but it is obvious that the rental shouldn't be too expensive, especially if we consider that the system is meant to serve a public service, it is not planned to bring any profits.
This is just another step into making Krk a fully ecological island: they are Croatian champions in recycling, using sustainable energy and energy efficiency, and there are 11 charging stations on Krk for electric cars. The hope is that by 2030 there will be no more CO2 emissions on Krk island!
