The City of Kraków are planning to reintroduce a City bike rental scheme, but with a difference. The new proposal includes both regular and electric bikes, with rental being offered on a long term, subscription basis.
The tender for the launch of the new city bike rental scheme is to be announced shortly. The bikes are to be delivered within three months of the contract signing, hopefully in time for Summer? Initially, there will be 250 regular bikes and 250 electric bikes.
Marcin Wójcik from the Public Transport Authority (ZTP – Zarząd Transportu Publicznego w Krakowie) announced that the planned system will be based on a monthly subscription – “We want to offer really affordable subscriptions,” added Wójcik, but didn’t provide a specific price.
Long term city bike rental schemes operate already in other cities across Europe and are said to offer some benefit sto users, as they include a promised 48 hour repair or replacement as part of the subscription. Bicycles rented on a longer term, tend to be maintained and looked after better by the user, lessening the chance of renting a damaged or broken bike.
Kraków was home to the first ever city bike rental scheme in Poland, which started in 2008. Many will recall the Wawelo city bikes which were a common sight across Kraków, but stopped operating at the end of 2019. Some can still be seen riding through the city, as the operator offered the ex-rental bikes for sale, many of which are still in use.
The city is also continuing the development of the Park-e-Bike Kraków scheme, currently only available at the Czerwone Maki P&R car park. There are plans to purchase an additional 100 bikes and make them available on the same terms in other P&R car parks.
A Scot in Kraków. The founder and editor of Kraków Expats Directory, and our sister sites Kraków TV and Kraków Stories Podcast.
David fell in love with Kraków 24 years ago, making it his home in 2011.
In 2020 he was awarded the title of Kraków’s Ambassador of Multiculturalism, by the President of Kraków, and is also a member of the GlobalScot network, representing Scottish culture and business abroad.
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