Valencia’s Town Hall initiates bicycle rental scheme

“Our city cannot aspire to be modern without a clear commitment to respect the environment.”

So stated one valenciano councillor, thereby launching the city’s latest scheme, which aims to provide locals and visitors alike with cheap bike rental. Similar projects have already been launched and proved popular in Barcelona, Seville, Paris and Lyon, and it has been pointed out that, given Valencia’s reliable climate and lack of steep inclines, this is a city ripe for a rent and ride service.

The plan is to provide 275 bike rental stations throughout the city with a total of 2,750 bicycles. A private company will manage and maintain the stations and will be financially reimbursed via advertising at each point.

Mayor Rita Barberá has ploughed a great deal of energy and enthusiasm into the project and has ensured that the service is affordably priced and available 365 days per year. Riders will be offered 30 free minutes to start, then the next half-hour will cost 50 cents after which the charge is two euros per hour. Regular users will be able to buy 18 euro vouchers, while the weekly rate will be set at 10 euros.

Located in the east at first, it is hoped that bike stations will ultimately be found in many different areas, including the Marítims Poblats district, Quatre Carreres, L’Eixample, Ciutat Vella, Benimaclet, Zaidia, Pla del Reial, Algirós and Camins al Grau. Eventually the bikes will be available in every part of the city.

The scheme was officially launched during an informal opening ceremony in Yecla Street and hopes are already high that the Valenbisi (as it is affectionately known) will be the perfect vehicle on which to appreciate the beauty of Valencia and the most direct route to work for commuters disenchanted with being delayed by the traffic.

It’s also the perfect way to enjoy the fresh air and will save participants money; a vigorous bike ride every day renders any gym membership obsolete!

If you like the city as much as we do, make sure you also check out Rimontgo’s properties in Valencia centre

New post on at Wednesday, 18 August, 2010, 9:51 am and is archived in Lifestyle, Places of Interest. Subscribe to answers with RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.