The bike is not entertainment – Public Transport

– We must first of all realize the residents that the bicycle is a means of transportation, not just a source of entertainment or recreation – said during a conference bike in 2015 Thomas Wojtkiewicz, President Nextbike. The main operator of urban bicycle system in Poland is about good towards the development of urban bike in our country.

The procedure for implementing the system of bikes is much more complex than it might seem. With his planning must take into account many aspects of what makes each city requires a different approach.

The popularity grows

– The public bicycle in Poland, there are roughly since 2010. Currently, the number of trips on bikes Nextbike of nearly 9 million, while the number of registered utilized across the country is 640,000 – says Tomasz Wojtkiewicz. – A good example is Wroclaw. Currently, there is a 73 stations and operates 730 bicycles. Since last year, significantly increased the number of stations and bicycles. By increasing the number of machines from 200 to 730, there was an increase in the use of 610%. This shows that a small system will not work – he added.

However, to the popularity of the system was high, it must be well organized. This raises the complexity of the implementation of urban bicycle. Firstly, every city needs a different approach to this system. You need to find out what the needs are and how the residents of public transport in the area. But the most important question is not infrastructure. It represents only 25% of the cost of the entire system. The key is a system and logistics. It was the development of a well-functioning program and the work associated with its operation and maintenance account for 75% of the bicycle city.

The bike must be simple

When entering a bicycle city You can not overdo it with unowocześnieniami. You have to remember that the bike is used for driving. – In Copenhagen, they tried to introduce modernized city bikes. They had, among others, tablets. This investment was expensive and it turned out that unnecessary. With the city bicycles the most important is the life of the equipment. They must be reliable for a long time, because otherwise the system will not be able to work and any repair costs will be much higher – says Tomasz Wojtkiewicz.

To have or to use

– More and more Poles see the value in use, not just possession. Examples of such systems are just as city bikes or Bla Bla Car. Such systems have many advantages and it is not only lower cost – says Tomasz Wojtkiewicz.
, However, that the inhabitants wanted to use the bikes, the system must be sufficiently developed. It is important to make it 10-30 bikes per 1,000 inhabitants. Performance of such a system can be determined in two ways. The first is the rotation, which is the average number of journeys each bike. Second, the average travel per capita. In Poland, apply only the first.

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Welcome to the IV Congress of Public Transport, which will take place in Warsaw on 19-20 October of 2015. Topics to be covered will, inter alia, mobility Poles technologies for mobility and planning issues and the objectives of urban development.

For more information about the Congress here.