The Provincial Council of Bizkaia and the municipalities of Barakaldo, Berango, Bilbao, Erandio, Getxo, Leioa, Portugalete, Santurtzi and Sestao have launched this Monday the BizkaiBizi public bicycle service, with 650 electric bicycles and 62 parking and charging stations . This number will increase in the coming weeks to 78 anchorage points, "100% of the service."
The new service was inaugurated with an event in Getxo, next to the Puente Colgante, in which the general deputy of Bizkaia, Elixabete Etxanobe, and the deputy of Transport, Mobility and Tourism, Sonia Pérez, together with mayors and representatives of the municipalities that are part of the project.
As explained, starting this Monday, anyone over 16 years of age can register for BizkaiBizi through the website www.bizkaibizi.eus, where information on the service, participating municipalities, a map with parking and charging points is available. , news, frequently asked questions or incidents.
You can also download the BizkaiBizi App, available for iOS and Android and which allows, among other functionalities, to see the location and availability of anchoring and charging points in real time, rent or return the bicycle and manage the user profile.
Registration is free and, at the time of registration, the system will ask the user for their personal information, mobile phone number, and details of a card where charges can be made for use. Optionally, a Barik card can be linked.
Bicycles can be removed from the parking lot by scanning the QR code of the bicycle with the App or with the Barik that the user has linked to their profile when registering on the website. The cost of each trip will be charged to the credit or debit card provided when registering and not to the Barik balance.
Although it is possible to register from the age of 16, minors must present authorization signed by their parents or legal guardians.
The new bicycles will be operational 19 hours a day, between five in the morning and until midnight, seven days a week.
The new electric bicycle service requires paying a fixed annual fee and usage fees. As a special introductory offer, both the annual fee and usage rates will be halved, except for the section that exceeds two hours.
Thus, until December 31, the annual pass will cost 12.50 euros and the first 30 minutes will be free, while from 31 to 60 minutes it will cost 0.17 euros, from 61 to 120 minutes 0.25 euros and after 120 minutes 6 euros per hour.
On the other hand, those who make more than 30 trips a month will have "a significant discount on their trips during the following period."
The BizkaiBizi bicycles have a range of 85 kilometers in normal use with a complete charging cycle, which is why, as the Provincial Council has assured, travel is guaranteed "without any problem" between the municipalities that are within the system. They weigh 30 kilos, and have five gears to facilitate pedaling.
They have a low bar to facilitate access, ergonomic and "suitable dimensions for all people", and are equipped with anti-vandal security mechanisms, identification and tracking systems using GPS, and detection and warning in case of accidents. Its color, orange, also provides "security and visibility" to users.
BizkaiBizi will have nine adapted three-wheeled bicycles for people with special needs, one for each of the municipalities participating in the project. This service will be provided at the request of users.
The new bicycles can be picked up in a municipality and returned to the same or a different municipality as long as it is within the BizkaiBizi system and, "either alone or in combination with other modes of public transport, be used to get to the workplace, study or leisure", the regional officials have highlighted.
During the inauguration of the service, the general deputy, Elixabete Etxanobe, stressed that "Bizkaibizi was born to reinforce sustainable mobility in the metropolitan environment of Bizkaia, expanding a dense interurban public transport network based on the metro and Bizkaibus."
"From today, to the red of the metro and the green of Bizkaibus, we add the orange of Bizkaibizi," he added, recalling that "in the collective imagination, orange is the color of our love of cycling as a competitive sport" and now also will be identified "with sustainable and healthy mobility."
Along the same lines, the deputy for Transport, Mobility and Tourism, Sonia Pérez, has pointed out that "BizkaiBizi was born with the vocation of becoming a new, more sustainable and healthy mode of public transport in the most densely populated area of Bizkaia."
Thus, he explained that the nine municipalities that are part of the network, located on both banks of the estuary, have a total of 700,000 inhabitants, 60% of the Biscayan citizens. The objective is for the BizkaiBizi service to expand to other locations throughout this term.
The investment made by the Provincial Council of Bizkaia and the nine town councils to launch this service is 6,898,741 euros over four years. The Provincial Council finances 30% of the total project and the nine town councils, the remaining 70%.
