December 19, 2019 – The City of Split is richer this week thanks to four new stations within the Nextbike public bicycle system.
Namely, Splitski Dnevnik writes that 32 new bikes (12 electric and 20 classic) will be available to citizens in addition to the existing ones. New stations have been set up at Zvončac (Ivan Meštrović Promenade), at the Marko Marulić Library (Ulica Slobode), at Vukovarska Street (Hygienic Institute) and Pazar (Poljana kneza Trpimira by the Bishop’s Palace).
The total value of this investment is 700,000 kuna, excluding VAT, financed by Split Parking. It is a continuation of the investment in the public bicycle system after eight stations were set up this summer with 50 bicycles – 20 electric and 30 classic.
The ever-increasing numbers also confirm the need to set up new stations. Since the system was implemented in mid-July until the end of November, the citizens of Split have rented bicycles 7943 times. October and November thus saw an increase compared to September with over 2000 rentals in each month, of which October was a record high with 2,766 rentals, an increase of almost 50 percent over September.
Despite a bleak November, which saw over 20 rainy days, 2291 rentals were made. November also saw the highest daily number of public bicycle rentals – namely, 156 of them.
It is important to note here that this is mostly about local users. Data on the number of rentals realized shows that as much as 75 percent are made by local users, which means that locals have achieved almost three times as many rentals as foreign users. In the total number of registered users, 65 percent are local and 35 percent are foreign. These ratios confirm the great interest shown by the citizens for this mode of transport, which has received an excellent response as a novelty in Split.
In addition to the number of registered users and rentals achieved, the success is confirmed by the numerous inquiries, suggestions and feedback sent by users and other interested parties. Split Parking responds to some challenges related to the Public Bicycle System in collaboration with the Nextbike operator, and their director, Ante Gustin, said that Split is one of the most successful cities in the region when it comes to the results of the public bicycle system.
“The autumn data is incredible; we are talking about new Croatian records here, especially considering that rentals begin to decline during this period due to colder weather and longer nights. I must definitely point out that it is working in a young public bicycle system, which opened in July this year and, in the shortest possible time, achieved top results.
Factors such as the topography of Split, the lack of a cycling tradition that is just being developed, the small number of bike lanes and the currently limited number of bicycles and stations, should be taken into account. I believe that the City will continue to develop bicycle paths and all infrastructure to make this service even safer and better.
Split Parking is also already working on getting new stations up and running as soon as possible. Electric bikes have made driving in Split easier and faster than ever before and citizens have recognized it very well,” said Gustin.
Split Parking said they are currently in the process of designing a study and documentation that will provide accurate analysis and an optimal number of stations to cover the entire city and provide a complete system of public bicycles. They want to make this alternative mode of transport, which is also cheaper, faster and more environmentally friendly, as accessible to citizens as possible.
“We expect the study we are doing to be completed by the end of December. Once the City of Split approval is obtained for the locations, it will proceed to launch a public tender to upgrade the system. We want to make sure that each county has at least one station and we are planning to have over 40 stations and over 200 new bikes in the next year.”
If you are still haven’t tried this system, you can find out more here. The registration is free of charge, and activating an account 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 30-minute rides, while the same applies for extra rides in the ‘pay as you go’ format.
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