City Bikes put to tender [LOCATIONS]

"The contract will be concluded for the next four years. The municipality orders a service, we will not be buying bicycles or bicycle stations. The service will be provided by the business that wins the tender," explains Daniel Chojnacki, Bike Officer at Wroclaw's Municipality Office.

More changes are under way. The contract stipulates that more bikes and bike stations will be provided. The system will operate 700 bicycles, instead of the former 200. On top of that, 70 stations will be provided (currently there are 32 such stations).

"The residents of Wroclaw want to use bicycles, and the popularity of City Bikes is the best evidence in this respect. We are planning to expand bike stations to new areas around the city. Additional stations will be provided in the city centre. While 56 stations must be provided in stipulated areas (marked in yellow), the location of 14 stations will be agreed with the prospective Operator (marked in red). The main principle is to integrate the stations with public transport (similar to the previous contract). We are addressing the needs of the residents, as they are using City Bikes more often. "More importantly, the fares won't change in the new system. The first 20 minutes will remain free of charge."

Bids will be accepted by the end of November. The company that wins the tender will operate the system as of April 2015. By that time, they will have to install new stations and provide three times as many bicycles as previously.

Wroclaw City Bikes operate from 2011. The first contract was concluded for three years and was worth 1.1 million PLN. The second contract (annual) was worth 497 thousand PLN, Nextbike Polska won both these tenders.

This season (from April to October), bicycles have been rented 120 thousand times. Currently, 61 thousand users are registered in the system.