The new Bicimad service starts this Tuesday with the launch of 700 new 100% electric bicycles distributed throughout 13 districts (Arganzuela, Carabanchel, Chamartín, Ciudad Lineal, Fuencarral-El Pardo, Hortaleza, Latina, Moncloa-Aravaca, Moratalaz, Puente de Vallecas, San Blas-Canillejas, Tetuán and Usera) and with 60 brand new stations.
The figures have been announced this Monday by the mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, from the new station at the exit of the Suanzes Metro --Alcalá, 506--. The councilor was accompanied by the delegate for the Environment and Mobility, Borja Carabante, as well as the councilor for the San Blas-Canillejas district, Martín Casariego.
In this way, as of this Tuesday, Bicimad begins to materialize its expansion project that will culminate when the 611 stations and 7,500 new bicycles are in operation and the current 264 stations and 2,964 bicycles withdrawn.
It will then be when Bicimad provides a service to the 21 districts of Madrid, six more than at present, to consolidate Madrid's electric public bicycle model as a benchmark active and sustainable mobility system for citizens.
The project, within the framework of the City Council's Madrid 360 strategy, has received European funding from the Next Generation funds administered by the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan based on a call managed by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda.
"Today we are presenting the first 60 new Bicimad stations until completing 611 that we are going to install throughout the 21 districts of the city of Madrid, as well as the 700 new bicycles that will be available to all users tomorrow. Starting tomorrow, both the old stations and the new stations that we are placing will coexist until the entire system is replaced," the councilor said.
Martínez-Almeida has estimated the cost of expanding Bicimad and starting its renewal at 50 million euros, an amount "adequate so that all Madrid residents can get around by bicycle."
The current system, which has been in operation for nine years, will gradually be replaced by the new one. This renovation, which implies the removal of the current 264 stations and 2,964 bicycles, entails "a coexistence time (five months) between the current and the new system so that the service does not stop working at any time."
Coinciding with the start-up of the new system, Bicimad will give all subscribers a five-month free subscription that will be activated when the subscriber migrates their account to MPass, the postpaid single account system that allows users to use the services from the EMT (bus, car parks, Bicimad and parking for bicycles).
For new annual users, who can register in the application at the time the service is launched, the subscription will also be free until July 31 and until that same date, they will also be able to enjoy the trips less than 30 minutes for free.
To use a bike from the old system that is parked in a new station, just scan the QR that is on the vehicle box through the application; if it is a matter of ending a trip in these same circumstances, it can be done in two ways: closing the bike lock (the system can take up to 30 seconds) or notifying the end of the trip from the application and then closing the lock. The bicycle must always be placed in an available anchorage at the station, occupying the usual physical space, even if the mechanical closure cannot be executed.
To use a new bicycle located in a station of the old system, it can be done in two ways: passing the card through the lock or reading the QR of the bike through the application. To leave a new bicycle in a station of the old system there are two options. On the one hand, closing the padlock and waiting for the green light to turn on (if it turns red it means the location is not correct or the station is already full) or notifying the end of the trip from the application and, later, closing lock until the green light comes on.
The new system incorporates a renewed brand image, as well as the launch of a new website and an updated application that will be launched this week. Both have been developed taking into account the latest advances in accessibility, design and usability to be useful to users.
Once the new service is launched, current Bicimad subscribers who wish to use it must migrate their existing account to the MPass system through the application's migration wizard. When signing up for MPass, the user will associate their profile with a means of payment on which the trips made or the subscriptions contracted will be charged. New users can sign up for the service directly through the application.
With the new Bicimad, anchoring and unanchoring the bicycles will be "very simple" because the bases have a light code that makes it easier for the user to know the status of the bicycle. The red light means that the bike is not available or that it has not been anchored well, the yellow one is a temporary light while the system executes the command given by the user and the green one turns on when the bike is available to be unanchored or when it is correctly placed anchored at the base.
To start the trip, the user can swipe the Bicimad card or the public transport card associated with the MPass account on the right side of the base or on the side of the padlock. You can also scan the QR code from the app and wait for the green light to turn on. As for the end of the trip, just anchor the bike to the base and wait for the green light to come on to confirm that it is well anchored. In this case, the user should not close the padlock.
