The demand for Bicing electric bikes is such that some of them have recorded peaks of up to 20 daily uses. This translates into greater wear, more breakdowns and a growing dissatisfaction at finding a bike that is not in the condition expected by the user who has paid his 35 cents per use in addition to the annual subscription of 50 euros. It is the negative side of the success that represents having reached 18 million annual uses and 147,000 subscribers, 36% more than when the new system was introduced in 2019.
The City Council is now trying to reverse the criticism and improve the service it offers with the incorporation of 1,000 new electric bikes, half a thousand during the second quarter of 2024 and the other half a thousand before the end of the year. The entire fleet will then reach 8,000 units, of which 5,000 will be electric and 3,000 mechanical, the usual ones. This consolidates the turning point reached this year, when electric companies have surpassed mechanical companies in number after the electrification of a thousand of them. Just three years ago, electric companies did not represent even a third of the total. Their use has skyrocketed in recent months and 70% of trips are already made with them.
New users who have joined in recently especially use those that have pedaling assistance. The expansion of the station map in 2019 has influenced this, when it was extended throughout almost the entire city, reaching the neighborhoods with steeper streets. The good reception it has had in those places leads the City Council to deepen the extension throughout the city, expanding with 74 new stations throughout the city until reaching 593 in total.
Half of the new ones will be in Eixample and Sant Martí, the two districts with the most uses. The rest will reinforce the existing service in Trinitat Nova, La Clota and Carmel and will make it reach the new neighborhood of Marina del Prat Vermell, as well as the mountainous Can Caralleu, Montbau and Sant Genís dels Agudells, which until now had been left on the sidelines. Of course, it will be on Montjuïc mountain where the first eight new stations will be installed as part of the plan to facilitate the mobility of Barça fans.
The extension of the service has led the public company Barcelona Serveis Municipals (BSM) to make a modification of the contract for a value of 2.8 million euros with the temporary union of companies Pedalem Barcelona, responsible for the management of Bicing.
The announcement of the improvement in the service coincides with the call for an indefinite strike scheduled to begin next Tuesday, November 14. The main reason for the planned strike is salary reasons, although it also includes complaints about the lack of personnel in the workshop and in the maintenance of the stations. The City Council's intention to incorporate more bikes without accompanying it with more resources may complicate the resolution of the conflict.
