Better use of Bicycle Share Systems - Program European Bicycle Share Conference Recipes for Success In Krakow, Szeged, Padua, Burgos, Lambeth ...
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Better use of Bicycle Share Systems Program European Bicycle Share Conference Recipes for Success In Krakow, Szeged, Padua, Burgos, Lambeth, Southwark Rotterdam, November 30, 2016 www.velo-citta.eu
Bike sharing Bike sharing schemes have become a part of today’s urban mobility landscape all over the world. To unfold their full potential and to be more than a mere flash in the pan of cycling policy, the schemes must be designed with a set of targets in mind and as one part of an integrated mobility and urban development strategy. The first major scheme contracts are running out putting bike sharing at a crossroads. Only if bike sharing contributes competitively to improving urban mobility, the schemes will be continued. VeloCittà brings together five cities aiming to improve their existing bike sharing schemes. In London (UK), Krakow (PL), Burgos (SP), Padua (IT) and Szeged (HU) the performance of the bike sharing system is enhanced through two complementary approaches. On the one hand marketing campaigns tailored to certain target groups, like students or commuters. And on the other hand the adoption of the most effective available operational solutions with regard to organisational and financial aspects as well as political involvement. The ultimate benefit of VeloCittà is that it provides inspiration and builds capacity and knowledge in local authorities and bike sharing stakeholders to boost the uptake of bike sharing. Welcome to the first European Bicycle Share Conference - The VeloCittà team -
Programme
EUROPEAN BIKE SHARING CONFERENCE - RECIPES FOR SUCCESS, ROTTERDAM, 30 NOVEMBER 2016
9.15 - 10.00
Registration & coffee and tea
10.00 - 10.30
VeloCittà: What have we learned? Keynote introduction on project & results and Pecha Kucha’s from partners Krakow (PL) and London (UK)
10:30 - 10:45
Mr. Pex Langenberg, Vice Mayor for Mobility of City of Rotterdam address on Bike Sharing in Rotterdam
10:45
Signing by politicians of ‘Commitment to Bike Sharing’
10.55 – 11.15
VeloCittà: lessons learned – Pecha Kucha presentations from partners Padua (IT), Burgos (SP) and Szeged (HU)
11.15 – 12.00
Keynotes speeches on Bike-Sharing
• Nicole Freedman, Director of Transportation for the City of Newton (USA) where she is spearheading new initiatives including bike share and first/ mile last mile shared
mobility solutions. Before that, she helped put bike share systems in place in Seattle and Boston. Former President of the North American Bike Share Association.
• Alberto Castro, Bike Share Researcher and founder of the Spanish bike share observatory. He’ll introduce the evolution of bike sharing in Spain, including some
features of closed schemes, and will show the modal shift and consequence on private cycling of bike sharing users based on own survey results.
• Jim Moore, Jim is CEO of the An Rothar Nua consortium, which was awarded the contract for Bike Share Ireland: the provision of public bike schemes in the cities
of Cork, Galway and Limerick. The public bike schemes are known as Coke Zero Bikes.
12:00 – 12:30
Q&A session and panel discussion with keynote speakers
12.30 - 14.00
‘Eat & Learn’: interactive working lunch FOR CITIES ONLY. Informal session to share lessons and best practices, based on VeloCitta’s 10 golden rules (among others on
tenders and contracts).
12:30 – 14.00
Open networking lunch for non-city participants
14:30 – 16:00
Polis Political Group Site Visit, hosted by Vice-mayor Pex Langenberg. Politicians only.
14:00 – 16:00
Possibility to have one-on-one sessions between bike share operators and municipality representatives (non- Polis members only).
Location: Conference centre De Doelen in Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Entrance of the Doelen: Kruisplein 40
Plenairy part from 10:00 – 12:30 is in the Van Weelde room on the 4th floor
Eat & Learn session from 12:30 – 14:00 in the Van Beuningen room and in the Schadee room, next to the Willem Burger Foyer on the 3rd floor
Open networking lunch from 12:30 – 14:00 in the Willem Burger Foyer on the 3rd floor.
The annual Polis conference on ‘Transport innovation for sustainable cities and regions’ takes place on December 1st and 2nd at the same location. http://www.polisnetwork.eu/2016conference
1
Pex Langenberg Nicole Freedman Alberto Castro Jim Moore Marianne Weinreich Willemijn Lambert
Host key note speaker key note speaker key note speaker moderator ‘De Betekenaar’
Vice Mayor of Rotterdam Nicole Freedman recently started Alberto Castro is researcher at the Jim Moore, an Electronic Engineer Marianne Weinreich is founder Willemijn Lambert is a Visual
Mr. Langenberg (D66) is the Vice working as Director of Transporta- University of Zurich and coordina- from Dublin City University, has and owner of Weinreich Mobility Recorder working with ‘De Be-
mayor for Port, Sustainability, Mo- tion for the City of Newton whe- tor, together with Esther Anaya, more than 25 years experience and co-founder and chairman of tekenaar’. She will capture the
bility and Governance of the city re, in addition to overseeing the of the Observatory for Bike-sha- in the ICT industry with Vision, the Cycling Embassy of Denmark. essence of conversations during
of Rotterdam. Previously Langen- division, she is spearheading new ring in Spain (www.bicicletapubli- Logica Australia, Autodesk Swit- the conference in pictures and
berg was Director of the Water initiatives including bike share, a ca.es). This independent project zerland, Informix and Logica CMG For the last 15 years she has ad- drawings.
and International Water Program- smart parking technologies, and has as a goal to provide objective Dublin, before starting several vised cities about promotion of
me Department of the Ministry of first/mile last mile shared mobi- information that facilitates the start up companies which inclu- sustainable mobility.
Infrastructure and the Environ- lity solutions. analysis of bike sharing. de ParkByText, BikeShare and All
ment. Between 2008 and 2013 he Points Payments. He also holds a She works with all aspects of mo-
was Transport counselor for the Before coming to Seattle Nicole Alberto Castro has intensively MBA from University College Du- bility management, but she’s an
Dutch embassy in Washington DC. served as Chief of Active Trans- investigated bike sharing from blin. expert on cycling policy and pro-
portation for the City of Seattle different perspectives. He did motion.
In 10 years a spectacular 60% where she helped put Seattle on his doctorate on sustainability of Jim is CEO of the An Rothar Nua
growth of bicycle use is seen in track to have the largest e-bike bike sharing at Vienna University consortium which was awarded She’s not an engineer, she has a
Rotterdam. Being rebuilt after share in the United States. She of Technology. There he led from the contract for the provision of background in communication and
World War II as a typical “car previously worked as Director 208 to 2011 the data collection public bike schemes in the cities a master in literature and history.
city”, Rotterdam accelerates the of Bicycle Programs for the City and evaluated the Austrian case of Cork, Galway and Limerick. The Marianne will chair the event.
shift to sustainable urban mobi- of Boston during which time she study of the EU-Project OBIS (Op- public bike schemes, known as
lity. In particular the city takes helped transform Boston from the timizing Bike Sharing in European Coke Zero Bikes, were launched in
measures to promote and facilita- worst cycling city in the country Cities). In 2012, as consultant, May 2014. An Rothar Nua has been
te biking as a strategy to become to a recognized leader. he participated in a study com- charged with the operation of all
a more attractive, healthy, and missioned by the Spanish Agency regional bike schemes in the Re-
prosperous city. Nicole has a degree in Urban Plan- of Energy that reviewed the sta- public of Ireland. Currently they
ning from Stanford University. She tus-quo of bike sharing in Spain operate a total fleet of 800 bikes
In the beginning of 2016, Mr. competed professionally in bike with recommendations for deci- through 75 stations, with an ex-
Langenberg signed an agreement racing from 1994-2005 winning sion markers. Finally, in 2013, as panded 11 stations being planned
with Gobike to deploy the city’s two national championships and researcher of the Zurich Univer- for in 2017.
first bicycle sharing system. Rot- competing for the United States sity of Applied Sciences, he con-
terdam expects that more opera- in the 2000 Olympics in Sidney. tributed to the pre-study of the
tors will follow. Bike Sharing sys- improvement of the bike sharing
tems fit the ambition for a better Nicole was chairwoman of the system in Vienna.
cycling city. They are important North American Bike Share Asso-
in first and last mile transport, ciation NABSA (www.nabsa.net)
but also to seduce visitors and from its launch in April 2014 until
citizens that don’t own a bike to November 2016.
cycle more.
2About VeloCittà A
With nearly a thousand cities in over fifty countries worldwide having a bike sharing system in place, All reports will become available on www.velo-citta.eu between December 2016 and February 2017.
this way of mobility has experienced enormous growth and is one of the fastest ways to make energy Conference participants will be notified by email when finalised project reports are uploaded.
efficient and sustainable transport available in urban areas.
VeloCittà is a demonstration project co-funded by the Intelligent Energy Europe Programme of the
Working with stakeholders that are engaged with the design and implementation of effective and European Commission. It has 11 project partners and will conclude its activities March 2017.
resource-efficient solutions, VeloCittà aims at providing inspiration to local authorities and BSS
stakeholders
The project aims to also support other BS schemes across Europe to increase their user numbers and ef-
ficiency by providing a knowledge and experience base on communications and operational approaches,
in the form of a permanent online Bike Sharing workspace.
VeloCittà tested approaches based on communication & awareness campaigns and organisational &
operational adjustments. In doing so, the project builds on and takes forward experiences and methodo-
logies developed by previous and on-going initiatives. Their deliverables, where relevant to cycling, bike
sharing and/or market segmentation will be an important part of the online Bike Sharing database and
will provide crucial input to the VeloCittà campaigns.
In the following pages you will find some highlights in a selection of the major outputs of VeloCittà
regarding:
• Communication campaigns aimed at five specific target user groups: commuters, employees,
tourists, students and residents. VeloCittà delivers an overall campaign report and a synthesis of the
fact sheets of all 5 user groups.
• Knowledge gathered in VeloCittà on financing and organisational aspects of bike sharing as well as
political support will be available in various documents: a report on political barriers and drivers, a
report on 10 golden rules for bike share financing & organisation and two fact sheets about optimi-
sing the BSS business case and about political involvement.
• A permanent Bike Sharing Workspace that includes a large library with bike share related scientific
reports, feasibility studies, evaluations, presentations etc, as well as contact information of bike
share experts (both from cities, operators and consultants). Finally, the Workspace will include case
studies with detailed information on the bike sharing systems of selected cities. This will be develo-
ped into a bike sharing benchmark tool for cities all over the world to use.
3VeloCittà City Partners
Kraków K
Kraków is the second largest city in Poland, located in the south of Poland. It is The financing of the contract by the city of Kraków is very limited. For 8 years
one of the oldest Polish historical cities, as its origins date back to the seventh the city will pay not more than 133 400 PLN (i.e. ca. 31 800 EUR). In addition to
century. It used to be the capital of Poland as well as the residence of Polish that, the operator will pay the city as follows: 1% out of all revenues from ren-
kings. The city is divided into 18 districts. The historical city center has been ting and 100% out of all other revenues (e.g. advertisement). The city of Kraków,
placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. through the municipal Authority of Public Infrastructure and Transport in Kraków,
• Kraków: high percentage of potential commuters; reasons of using BSS: supervises the implementation of the contract, approves prices of all subscripti-
university/school 35% (204,891 students), work 32% (204,897employees) ons and docking stations localization etc.
• The intellectual potential of Kraków includes 24 universities and the number
of people employed at universities amounts to 22,125 (including about 1,800 Main target groups
professors). The city has over 750.000 inhabitants and it is one of Poland’s • Residents
most important economic centres and the economic hub of the Małopolska • Students
region. There are about 50 large multinational companies in the city. • Employees
• Kraków: is home to almost 205,000 students, learning in one of the 10 public
institutions of higher education and 13 non-public colleges. The Jagiellonian Key messages:
University educates almost 52,000 of them on several campuses all over the • Our bikes are very functional
city. • Our bikes are the most modernized in Poland
• Kraków: welcomes around 10 million tourists per year, of which most are • Our system is well integrated to the public transport, so you can use it in
foreign tourists. The majority of the current BSS docking stations are located your daily activities….
in the historic old town but till springtime 2017 the system will have been • …but also for your leisure time!
significantly extended and will have covered almost the whole city. • It’s easy to be a member
• It’s easy to rent a bike
Modal share • Leave your car at home, stay fit, healthy, benefit from the great weather
• Public Transport - 36,3% and fight with air pollution
• Car - 33,7% • You are never too old to use it
• Walking - 28,4%
• Cycling - 1,2% Key figures
• other - 0,3%
• P&R - 0,1% Year Stations Bikes Users Rentals
2013 13 90 1.817 6.284
New system in 2016
• The brand new system was launched in October 2016 and will be rolled out 2014 29 270 9.644 29.023
in the coming half year. Its bike stations are not permanently attached 2015 34 300 30.548
to the ground. Each station offer two stands for one bike. What is more, the
2016 34 300 50.931
bike stations serve as traditional bike stands and are not be equipped with
any mechanical elements that would be used to rent a bike. Apart from that,
the system also offers possibility of returning a bike beyond a bike station,
but for some extra fee (3 PLN, ca. 0,7 EUR). On the contrary, those who
return such a bike to the bike station are awarded with a small bonus
(1 PLN, ca. 0,25 EUR) added to their account.
• Each bike station is equipped with an information panel: map of the nearest
station, cycling infrastructure in the neighborhood, contact to the Customer
Service Office, user instruction, information about a relevant mobile
application, excerpt from regulations etc.
• The system consists of the so called 4th generation bicycles meaning they
are equipped with GPS and on-board computer that allow users to rent,
return, report bicycle/system faults etc.Szeged Burgos
Szeged is located in the Southern part of Hungary, and it is the third largest Burgos is a medium-sized city in the north of Spain with 178,000 inhabitants, of
city of Hungary with a population of around 163.000. It is known as the ‘City which the majority (about 67 000) is between the ages of 35-59. Burgos is a very
of Sunshine’, because it has the highest number of sunny days throughout the compact city. The density is around 1,672 hab./ km2. Almost 160,000 people
year. Szeged is the main city in Csongrád county and serves as a commercial and commute in and out of Burgos each day. The university educates around 6,000
cultural center of the region. Today’s Szeged is an important university town students. The industry is one of main pillars in the City, with in total 2,000 in-
and a popular tourist attraction. Approximately 206.000 tourists visit every year. dustry companies and more than 20,000 people working in industry in industrial
The University of Szeged is the main employer in the city. Szeged is one of the areas generally far from the city centre. The service and building sectors holds
centres of the food industry in Hungary, especially known for its paprika and more 65,000 inhabitants, working mainly in the city centre.
salami. The industry consists otherwise of chemical industry, oil, gas exploitati-
on, production of machinery, textiles, clothes, shoes, the leather industry, china Description of Bicycle Share Scheme
production, building industry. • Name: Bicibur Burgos http://www.bicibur.es/
• The Burgos BSS was first launched in 2006, as part of the European CiViTAS
Modal share: project.
• 22% Car • Operator: A new agreement was signed in 2015 with only BICAL, who is now
• 22% Walking the full operator.
• 9% Cycling • ITCL acts as a subcontractor for technical issues. Burgos City Council owns
• 47% Public Transport the BSS.
• Hardware supplier: Juarez (BICAL) is also the hardware provider.
Description of Bicycle Share Scheme • Contract duration: The contract is launched every two years.
• Name: CityBike Szeged
• In operation since: October 2013 Financing of the contract:
• Operator: Sund Magyarország Ltd. The costs are approx. € 180,000 each year.
• Subcontractors: OTP Mobilszolgáltató Kft. - Simple Pay - Paying system
• Hardware supplier: the operator itself, Sund Magyarország Ltd. Modal share
• Contract duration: not applicable, private company • 31% Private Transport car
• 18,3% Public Transport – all (including Private PT)
Financing of the contract: • 8,9% Cycling
No data available. It is an independent business with no financial support from • 41,1% Walking
the municipality. • 0,7% Others (motorbike)
Key messages: Main target groups
• Try it, it’s easy to use • Students,
• At university get a pass. • Workers mainly in the City Centre or around
• Get on a bike today, it’s cheaper than the bus. • Citizens in general
Main target groups: Key messages
• Tourists, • It is now easier to be member of the system through internet.
• Students, • Bike is of quality
• Residents • More BSS points
• Employees • Possibility of using the University Card or the Bus card for the BSS
• All of the new users will receive some gifts to celebrate ten years (a bike
Key figures bottle, mobile base for the bike and an elastic glasses rope).
• All of the members up to 30th September were inside a contest of 6
Year Stations Bikes Users Rentals intelligent watches.
Oct. 2013 12 100 232 472
Key figures
Oct. 2014 12 100 1.600 3.000
Oct. 2015 10 100 2.800 4.890 Year Stations Bikes Users Rentals
June 2016 10 100 3.727 6.000 2013 18 107 504 17.334
Oct. 2016 10 100 3.899 6.919 2015 20 107 480 14.269
2016 23 150 approximately 938 (10-2016) 24.913 (10-2016)Padua P
Padua is located in the middle of Veneto Region, in northeastern Italy, 30 km Key figures
west from Venice. Its central position makes it very easy to reach by plane, by
car or by train. Padua is a dynamic and vivacious city with a vast historical and Year Stations Bikes Users Rentals
monumental heritage. 11/07/2013 - 11/07/2014 28 265* 3.130 214.049
The population of Padua is 210.401 (2015) of which 93.000 can be called em- 11/07/2014 - 11/07/2015 27 265* 2.566 203.403
ployees. The number of commuters in and out per day is 48.000 (estimated, 31/12/2015 27 265* 1.990
2013). The University of Padua is one of the most known universities in Italy and
11/07/2015 - 11/07/2016 27 265* 2.413 191.199
in the world, and among the oldest in the world (the second in Italy after Bolog-
na, the seventh in the world). In the academic year 2014-2015 the University of
Padua had 57.646 subscribers. Almost all faculties of the University are located
in the city centre. London
London Borough of Lambeth
The industrial area of Padua is one of the biggest industrial zones in Europe, London’s Borough of Lambeth has a population of about 300,000. Its employment
having an area of 11 million sq. m. The main offices of 1.300 industries are base primarily consists of service sector employment. Looking over a longer
based here, employing over 50.000 people. In the industrial zone, there are two time-frame, the total number of jobs in the Lambeth economy (including self-
railway stations, one fluvial port and three truck terminals. Padua is an impor- employed) increased by 15,000 or 10.6% between 2002 and 2012. There are
tant tourist destination in northern Italy, profiting from the massive numbers of 140,500 people employed in jobs in Lambeth. More than 80% of workers work
tourists visiting its neighboring city Venice. Padua hosts around 607.000 tourists full-time (peak hours for the docking points). More than 26% of members use
per year. Many visitors arrive in Padua by train. The historical city centre is a the service 5 or more days a week, and more than 24% use BS 3-4 days a week.
car-free zone and most of the bike sharing docking stations are situated in that There are morning and evening peaks during weekdays.
area.
The Waterloo Railway station docking station is the busiest in London with 126
Description of Bicycle Share Scheme docking points it is the starting point for the top 3 journeys in London.
• Name: GoodBike Padova
• In operation since: (1.1) July 2013 Modal share
• Operator: Bicincittà • 9% Underground
• Hardware supplier: Bicincittà • 20% Bus/tram
• Contract duration: 10 years (deadline 10 november 2021) • 1% Taxi/other
• 26% Car/motorcycle
Financing of the contract • 4% Cycle
• The contract amount includes the cost of the infrastructure, of the bicycles • 33% Walk
and the management for 10 years (€456.000,00).
• Funding from UE, Municipality of Padua, Environmental Ministry, Private Description of Bicycle Share Scheme
Associations. • Name: London Santander Cycle Hire
• In operation since: July 2010
Modal share • Operator: Serco Limited is the service provider. The service provider is
• 48% car-free required to design, build, test, operate and maintain the system and
• 24% public transport supporting business processes for the provision of services in relation to
• 17% cycling the London Cycle Hire Scheme.
• 11% motorbike • Sub-contractors: Devinci was sub-contracted to provide the bicycles and
docking stations.
Key message • Hardware supplier: Serco Ltd is responsible for providing all elements of the
• Be happy! By smart! Be healthy! London Cycle Hire, including the hardware, software, and systems. Devinci
was sub-contracted to provide the bicycles and docking stations.
Main target groups • Contract duration: The contract is for a period of five years and commenced
• Students in August 2009. There was a clause in the contract to extend, the whole or
• Residents/Employees part of the services, for a period of two years following the expiry of the
initial term. It was announced at the end of 2013 that the contract with
Serco Ltd would be extended until July 2017.Financing of the contract Analysis of current employment density across the borough shows the greatest
The London Cycle Hire Scheme is a public scheme funded by Transport for concentration of employment to the north west of the borough from London
London (TfL), with the sponsorship agreement and hire charges contributing Bridge extending east to Bermondsey and south to Elephant and Castle.
to financing the scheme. The expansion of the scheme to the south-west and
east has also been funded by the local boroughs via the Local Implementation Southwark’s Modal share (2014/5
Plan scheme (LIPs) and Section 106 contributions from developers collected for • 7% Rail
local cycling and public realm improvements. The new sponsor of London’s BSS, • 9% Underground
Santander, was announced in February 2015. The £43.75m (over 59 million euro) • 19% Bus/tram
deal is the largest public-sector sponsorship in the world. • 1% Taxi/other
• 22% Car/motorcycle
Key figures • 3% Cycle
• 39% Walk
Year Stations Bikes Users Rentals
2013 32 931 6.283 501.719 Description of Bicycle Share Scheme
See information in the section on the London Borough of Lambeth.
2014 43 1.207 6.337 514.528
2015 43 1.288 8.626 654.564 Operational key figures in Southwark
2016 49 1.486 10.121 549.874 (to date)
Infrastructure Usage
Members whose journey
Docking Members living Member
Average rental Month Bikes either started or ended
Registrations Average trip length Stations in Southwark hires
Year duration Across in borough
in Lambeth Across the scheme
the scheme Apr-13 39 7.888 7.524 31.820 54.117
2013 6.283 members 17 minutes 4.1km
Sep-13 39 7.850 7.804 29.749 51.319
2014 6.611 members 18 minutes 4.3km
Apr-15 39 10.324 9.020 29.877 51.272
2015 8.626 members 18 minutes 4.4km
Sep-15 39 10.333 9.955 31.732 55.338
2016 10.121 members 18 minutes 4.5km
Apr-16 44 11.160 10.445 28.493 49.751
Sep-16 44 10.584 11.400 34.054 59.813
London
Southwark
Southwark is a central London Borough south of the Thames with a population
at 306,745. Southwark’s population profile is characterised by a high percentage
of working age residents, 69.2% compared to 64.4% in London. Southwark has
27,044 full-time students (age 18 to 74), representing 9.4% of the population.
While Southwark is currently a young borough with 64% of its population under
the age of 40 (compared to a London average of 60% for the same age group),
the 65+ age group is predicted to grow the fastest (32%) and the 20-39 group the
slowest (9%).
With an increasing number of new residents in their 20s and 30s household sizes
are getting smaller. The number of households has risen since the last Census
from 105,804 in 2001 to 120,400 in 2011. The council is also committed to
building a minimum of 2,376 homes per year, which will add to increase in the
number of households.Development and implementation Operational improvements
While the campaigns were being developed or live, the cities were also looking at operational improve-
of marketing campaigns ments they could make to their systems.
• In London, work has been underway on intensification and plans to expand the Santander Cycle Hire
Identifying the challenges scheme, with the identification of sites and funding, as well as looking at other BSS in operation in
Each city identified the key challenges: the city.
• For London it was to be bold and to change the perception of who uses Santander Cycle Hire (male, • In Burgos, a new website has made it easier to become a member and new, white bicycles have
middle to high income). created a marketing buzz while addressing the poor public perception of the original bicycles.
• For Burgos it was to address issues of the perception of poor quality bicycles. • In Krakόw, the new system will address the issues of the older, under performing system and better
• For Krakόw it was the challenge to commission a new supplier and, not only with the experience of a meet the needs of the city.
gap in the service, implement an entirely new system. • In Szeged, they have worked hard with the municipality to gain the support of the local politicians
• For Szeged, being privately owned, the key challenge was how to get the support of the local and key stakeholders – providing an opportunity for this privately owned business to start to thrive.
municipality. • In Padua, a new app was launched to improve the registration process and show real time data about
• Padua, while fully supported by the municipality and privately owned, needed a more coordinated the number of bikes available and the location of docking stations.
approach by the two partners.
Market segmentation: identifying target groups
Bike sharing for different target groups
Some cities decided to focus on quite broad target groups, targeting residents, students, employees
The VeloCittà activities in…
or tourists, while other cities narrowed it down even further to target specific groups within the larger
During VeloCittà, six partners in five cities carried out a variety of measures to address existing or po-
groups, such as women, people of low to middle incomes and from specific backgrounds.
tential users: residents, students and commuters, employers and employees. Below are some examples
of the activities that were carried out within the project. A more detailed report will become available
Idenitifying stakeholders
in February 2017.
All the cities identified key stakeholders that could assist with either providing access to the target
groups, communication channels or assist in improving the operations.
Burgos
Bicibur doubled the number of active users from under 500 in 2014 to about 1.000 in 2016. This was
Political support
mainly achieved by focussing on residents, students and commuters. A campaign in 2016 informed widely
Key to a successful BSS is political support. Political and senior municipality officer support can assist
about the registration options and a raffle for new users was carried out. Bicibur sent promoters to the
with ensuring that the BSS is given both strategic and financial importance.
university and student events to make the offer known among students. The electronic student can be
used access the Bicibur system after a simplified registration process.
Focus groups: finding out attitudes
The focus groups enabled the cities to find out more about their target groups attitudes to the proposed
To strengthen the integration of Bicibur and public transport, the option of using the bike sharing
key messages, offers, operations, marketing materials and communication channels. Most of the cities
scheme with the BonoBur was promoted during the project.
organised their focus groups during the campaigns and adapted according to the response.
Krakow
Key messages
Krakow was going through the process of tendering and implementing a new bike sharing scheme during
Each city developed key messages to address the challenges and respond to their target groups. Many of
the project. Thus, the activities focussed on an overall promotion of cycling in the city and informing
the key messages included themes such as:
about the upcoming scheme. In summer 2016, the bikes for the new system were presented to the
• It’s fun
public. The department of infrastructure and transport (ZIKiT) carried out a poll to let locals decide
• It’s affordable
about the new name for the scheme. Among four options, WAVELO was chosen to be the new local bike
• It’s for every day (like the bus or train)
sharing offer.
• It’s for everyone, no specific skills are needed
• It’s easy to get started, just hop on
The city administration offered two different types of cycling tours on Bike Share bicycles, one addres-
sing residents and focussing on bike safety and everyday cycling in Krakow, and one offering different
Key offers
themed bike tours for tourists.
Alongside key messages, the cities developed key offers to create an incentive for the target group in to
interact with the campaign. This included the offer of free cycle training on Santander Cycle Hire bikes
To increase cycling in general and bike sharing specifically among students, the city administration spon-
in London, discounted student membership in Padua, new bikes in Burgos, a new system in Krakόw and
sored cycling students at university events.
opportunities to create a cycling culture in Padua, providing events for families to cycle together.
Marketing Materials and communication channels
The next step for the cities was identifying the types of communication channels and marketing mate-
rials. Most of the cities produced leaflets and posters, with a focus on digital media and events. Padua
had paid communication channels, with radio advertising. London used both the pavement (stickers,
reverse graffiti) and a street Superdigit installation at a docking station to draw attention to how close
key destinations are to cycle.
8London Policy & Political involvement
TfL and Santander promote Santander Bikes in London in citywide campaigns. This leaves little room Benefits of Bike Sharing
for individualised activities but TfL supports the boroughs with on-site events by providing staff that Bike sharing brings along a list of positive effects. While parts of the effect result directly from the use
explains the scheme to the attendants. Lambeth focussed on residents in specific neighbourhoods and on of the scheme itself, others are indirect or rather long-term results.
students that live in the borough. • Modal share: bike sharing influences the current modal share. A small proportion of this effect comes
directly from the actual use. A larger effect in the long run can be expected by the overall
London Southwark decided as part of the broader marketing council wide campaign, to use more tradi- improvement of cycling visibility, safety, infrastructure etc.
tional methods, and for the Harper Road installation to trial a more experimental marketing technique - • Congestion and modal share, are reduced to a rather small extent by trips made with the scheme.
literally bringing the message to life. Initially, Light Follows Behaviour was engaged to work on a lighting The indirect effect regarding the reduction of congestions is presumably far higher through an over
installation. all more favourable modal share.
• Mobility landscape: bike sharing adds an attractive mobility option that complements walking and
The London College of Communications was commissioned to develop the idea for Harper Road. The public transport.
Superdigits design was conceived as a response to comments from local residents and businesses not • City image: the local bike sharing scheme is an excellent opportunity to market the city brand and
knowing how far away local landmarks are by cycle. (The most responses about why there weren’t to create a positive image of a liveable, sustainable city among residents and visitors.
cycling or using the Santander Cycle Hire was due to the perception of cycling as unsafe. The Superdigits • Health and well-being: cycling improves the health and well-being of the respective cyclists directly.
clearly define how far landmarks are to cycle – with huge numbers showing the distance. In the bigger context bike sharing contributes indirectly to a healthier, safer and more liveable
surrounding by fostering sustainable mobility.
The borough-wide #cyclehappy campaign combined on-street elements and online communication to • Economic effects: Staff working for the operation of the scheme constitute a direct economic
promote bike sharing and cycling in general to residents and employees. effect. Retailers who are located close to bike sharing stations gain access to new customers.
The overall improvement of the local cycling culture supports the city’s retail industry.
Additionally to these individual approaches, Southwark also teamed up with transport for London to tar-
get residents, students of the South Bank University and businesses. TfL supported the campaigns with Bike Sharing at a Strategic Level
free vouchers, one-site staff to inform potential users and marketing materials. Bike sharing schemes cannot become successful as an isolated measure and without setting targets.
The key-stakeholder should agree on the level(s) of success, e.g. economic success, high performance,
Padua visibility, image, that they wish to focus on. The superior strategic level for the future of any city is the
The main focus for Padua was on residents. New marketing materials, e.g. brochures and posters were general principle for urban development and overarching mobility plans. The European Commission (EC)
developed. The campaign was accompanied with social media activities and radio spots. In spring 2016 a supports the development of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) with a set of guidelines, projects
total number of 360 radio sports was aired by local radio stations to promote the scheme. and events. The EC also provides a common online-tool and knowledge exchange platform – Reference
A new GoodBike App was introduced to facilitate the registration and usage processes. Framework for European Sustainable Cities (RFSC) - for measure assessment in strategic urban planning.
The city administration incorporated GoodBike for the promotion of cycling in general and carried out The lowest strategic level, the strategy for the bike sharing scheme itself, comprises the vision for the
several events, mainly targeting residents and students. Politicians like the Mobility Councillor parti- scheme, the targets in terms of effects, an implementation and operation plan and performance key
cipated and helped getting media coverage for cycling as a vital topic for the city. GoodBike and the figures. Just as the cycling strategy it needs frequent updates to update the measures planned during
city administration were present at events for the Sustainable Mobility Week, the Expobici, the city fair implementation and operation and to adjust the performance indicators. To ensure proper target achie-
M’illumino di meno and many more. vement measurement, a monitoring plan needs to come with the bike sharing strategy.
Besides that, discounts were provided for students and commuters that registered during the campaign Political Recommendations to Bike Sharing users, Local and regional authorities, including
period. Also, 30 mobility managers of local companies received information about the service and sup- politicians, Bike Sharing operators, Cycling associations, Transport experts
port in informing their employees about the offer. • Administrative levels: all administrative levels are important. Mayors and other high placed officials
have the power to push the decision for a bike sharing scheme. They also have the opportunity to
Szeged boost the scheme with their own visibility. Lower administrative levels are responsible for the
Sund operates CityBike Szeged privately and without financial support from the municipality. During physical permits and their good spirit is therefore essential during the implementation.
VeloCittà, Sund improved the corporate identity, upgraded the website and developed a number of mer- • Political sustainability: As bike sharing schemes are supposed to run several years, it is important to
chandising products, such as t-shirts, stickers etc. involve the opposition as well to avoid the schemes discontinuation after an election.
• What did the politicians feel were the main barriers to progress to success for BSS? Many said that
The key issue for the operator was to make CityBike widely known and establish the offer in the city. financing was an issue as this included not only the start up costs but also the economic sustain-
The newly developed CityBike Pass (RFID) was developed and marketed. ability of the running costs at a time of scarce public resources.
• Other barriers were more general and related to cycling more widely, such as perceived danger of
Sund also worked on strengthening the cooperation with the city. A brochure, also including the CityBike cycling limiting new take-up and negative campaigning from motorists.
offer was produced and distributed to 75,000 households by the city administration. Furthermore, City- • On a practical level, many cities said that the limited success of the BSS was due to the small
Bike Szeged was present at different seasonal events with a focus on residents, students and tourists. number of bike paths and BSS stations in the city and that increasing these would help. To illustrate
Free vouchers, that were handed out at these and further occasions, triggered potential users to regis- this, Parma (Italy), said that their expanded BSS network has now resulted in a 45% jump in use.
ter. From October 2014 to October 2016, the number of users increased from 1,600 to 3,900. • Also different models of running BSS schemes have been tried out but some have not been so
successful, for example the need to reserve bikes and the payment of a deposit was found to be a
barrier to greater take-up.
9Results in a nutshell R
VeloCittà sought to bring together cities with BSSs that for different reasons could benefit from exposure In Padova the BSS was launched in 2013, with an immediate success confirmed by annual registrations
to marketing segmentation technique, exchange of information on technical and organisational issues, that hit a peak in 2014 with 3.130 registered users. As of 2015 numbers started to decline, reaching
as well as direct observation of the respective systems in operation. VeloCittà negotiated its pathway 1.990, mostly owing to waning political support, physiological disaffection and the inability to cope with
in the broader mobility environment presented by each city, facing fluctuating political moods, newly bikes maintenance and adequate bikes distribution. However, the segmented marketing campaigns deli-
intervening policies, and contingent socio-economic factors. Results shall thus be put in perspective in vered in 2016 were able to lift numbers up with 2.413 annual registrations, thus countering the negative
order to appropriately understand the contributions that the project was able to deliver. trend.
As a whole VeloCittà is associated with success in all participating cities, both owing to the increased As a whole, the experience of VeloCittà allows to reach a few general conclusions. Across cities, BSSs
capacity produced by the project and to concurring external factors that favoured the improvement of tend to witness initial enthusiastic responses, with registered users that increase the first 2 or 3 years,
BSS service levels. In London, the local BSS generally witnessed a noticeable surge in all monitored indi- and then show slight downward or stable trends from the 3rd year onwards, also depending on the
cators, with a rising number of registered members (+100% in Southwark and +66% in Lambeth), docking expansion strategy of each city.
stations (+13% in Southwark and +58% in Lambeth), public bikes (+7% in Southwark and +34% in Lam-
beth), hires and journeys (+10% in Southwark and +40% in Lambeth). These remarkable achievements are Marketing segmentation is a powerful tool that prior to VeloCittà was virtually absent in the partner
clearly linked with the expansion strategy decided by London, and in fact similar trends are visible also cities and that thanks to the project allowed the participating BSSs to be better connected with the
in the other Boroughs served by the BSS. However, the staff working in VeloCittà agree that VeloCittà’s respective users. Getting to know and understand the array of current and prospective users, especially
segmented marketing campaigns had a strong influence on shifting behaviours towards public bikes and through the administration of focus groups, is the single most valuable legacy that VeloCittà leaves the
cycling in general, thus substantially reinforcing the expansion strategy already planned. The assessment cities with, and one that will be used and improved in the future.
is confirmed by the observation of the improved performance of the specific docking stations that the
two Boroughs targeted with their segmented marketing campaigns. Likewise, the knowledge generated and exchanged within the project, whether all-round good practice,
specific issue handling, or live observation of other BSSs, proved to be a strong source of inspiration
In Burgos results are also promising. After the local BSS switched from a free to a fee-based service for all involved, and provided a stimulating discussion platform that in turn allowed the local staffs to
(2012), the number of registered had collapsed, almost obliterating the system. As of 2013, and with return home with new ideas, options, as well as validation for approaches and techniques.
the help of VeloCittà, the BSS rebounded recording a 100% increase in registered users. The number of
monthly hires also went up by 76%, confirming that the system is now on its way to complete recovery. The improved capacity, and the confirmation provided by working in a EU project, supplied robust
arguments when selling the merits of BSS to politicians. The latter displayed different levels of attention
The BSS of Szeged, which was launched at in 2013 at VeloCittà outset, the number of registered mem- and commitment toward BSS, with strong involvement especially in Lambeth, Krakow and Padova (at
bers witnessed a 15-fold increase. The segmented marketing campaigns, which targeted students, were least initially). Despite these variations, BSS is confirmed to be a relatively inexpensive service, able to
effective and helped push the number of registered students up, passing from the initial 20% to 60% generate substantial visibility and attract relevant investments, especially in medium-large cities, and
of total registrations. In terms of customer satisfaction, the local system has maintained high ratings, as such it is bound to resonate with politicians.
and currently 80% of users is happy with the public bikes and actually in favour of additional docking
stations.
10VeloCittá’s 10 ‘Golden Rules’ for financing and for optimal organisation of bike share systems, that municipalities can use when they plan to set up a
scheme or renew a contract with an operator.
1 ‘Political and executive support leads to strategic and financial support’ 6 ‘Launch a system at the correct scale’
Commitment to a Bicycle-sharing system (BSS) at political or executive level creates opportunities for There needs to be enough stations and bicycles at the launch of a BSS. Users must be able to use a
financial support. Fostering these partnerships enables new coalitions with relevant stakeholders who bicycle to go from the origin of their choice to their chosen destination, without being confronted with
bring added support to a scheme. Combining the BSS into a city plan for cycling or as part of the urban unavailability of bicycles or stations.
mobility plan encourages greater adoptions of schemes from political and executive levels.
7 ‘Include maintenance and performance plans in the contract’
2 ‘Secure financing from more than one source’
A malfunctioning service may lead to unsatisfied users and a declining user group. Bicycles, stations,
User fees alone are not sufficient to make a BSS economically viable. Securing additional resources is racks, payment system and the management of a system are vital elements in the delivery of the
crucial. Examples of financing include sponsorship agreements, advertisement, or grants at the local, service, therefore maintenance is essential. A contract between an authority and BSS operator should
national or European level. include proper maintenance and minimum service level agreements.
3 ‘Understand your market and how your BSS adds value’ 8 ‘Ensure access to operator data for policymaking purposes’
In order to be successful, a service must provide added value to its user group. It is necessary to learn As operations take place, data is collected about the usage of the system. It provides insights into the
from the the users of the BSS: their preferences, habits, mobility behaviours, etc. This ‘customer’ who utilizes a system, the volume of users, and when and where the system is used. It reveals the
intelligence is the basis for designing the scheme, service offers, subscription models and marketing popular origin sites and destinations, data which is useful in optimising operations and policymaking.
campaigns. The data that is collected should be made available to city authorities, and could be arranged in the
contract with the BSS operator.
4 ‘Engage with local stakeholders and business-to-business markets’
9 ‘Make payment and subscription easy’
Besides individual users of the systems, local stakeholders such as businesses, can prove crucial in
building a successful user base. Employers or universities have large commuter groups. As such, they can Difficulties in understanding payment and subscriptions build barriers and prevent usage of a system.
be perfect target groups for BSS operators. Specific service and subscription packages could be designed Accessing and using a system must be made as easy as possible. It is best to reduce the options on
and customised for these groups. pricing, the number of steps for payment, and to build a platform that integrates the BSS into existing
payment schemes – such as a public transport chip card. Avoid (pre) registration, and when registration
5 ‘Ensure a seamless integration of the BSS with the transport system’ is required, allow on-the-spot registration with an easy and user-friendly interface.
A BSS is one of many options in a transport system. The BSS should be integrated into the system in 10
10 ‘Professionalise marketing to sell the service’
order to ensure seamless connections between different transport options. This requires an abundan-
ce of stations located in well-planned places, such as close to specific origins, destinations and public A professional marketing approach considers many different user groups and service packages to match
transport hubs. What is also important is the integration of the BSS payment scheme in an existing the needs of these different groups. It takes advantage of appropriate channels and messages to effecti-
public transport payment scheme. vely reach the target users, ensuring the greatest impact of a system and encouraging potential users to
try the service for themselves.
11VeloCittà Thanks to the experience gained during the VeloCittà project, it is advisable that communities intere-
sted in boosting bike sharing should keep in mind the following considerations:
• Economic sustainability can be an issue. Many of the bike sharing systems appeared on the market in
Statement of Support for bike sharing schemes in our communities recent years have faltered within the first two years of service. In addition to casual system design
Rotterdam, 30 November 2016 and weak user needs assessment, a common reason is the complex economic sustainability of the
system, which requires careful planning ahead of field operation. On the long run, thriving bike
We, the undersigned Mayors and Councilors, make decisions every day affecting the health and safety of sharing systems reach their economic balance be leveraging a mix of financial sources, such as
our residents and the long-term quality of life in our communities. sponsorships, advertising revenues and public subsidies.
• Professional marketing and communication strategies are critical for the success of bike sharing.
Urban areas can bring challenges of air pollution, congestion, traffic safety, accessibility, social inclusi- VeloCittà learned that it is important to identify specifically the groups that are to be targeted and
on, and economic growth. In addition, urban areas are growing – in 2014, 54% of the world’s population design the message to be communicated accordingly. Generalised umbrella-like marketing
lived in urban areas and it is expected that this figure will rise to 70% by 2050. With more people living approaches fail to effectively entice new users.
in urban areas in the future, potentially these challenges will get greater unless action is taken to • Continuing exchange of experience, data and lessons learned on urban bike sharing with other
address them. communities is essential to ensure a long life to our systems.
Solutions to these many challenges are equally diverse and complex. One very accessible transport opti- We would urge that:
on that can be used by a large majority of people is the bicycle. Cycle use has many advantages, for the • Cities that do not currently have a bike sharing system should investigate the benefits of introducing
individual as well as for society and the environment. Cycling, as an individual mode of transport, offers one, using the experience from cities with prior experience and experts in the field.
quick and efficient door-to-door transport. It is also a flexible means of transport that helps keep cities • Cities that do have a bike sharing system should actively participate and help in sharing their
moving, and prevents or reduces congestion. experiences and advice to other cities, especially to those who do not have a system.
• Future platforms facilitating this exchange at a transnational level be established, in order to help
However, in crowded living spaces not everyone can own or has space for a bike, making more difficult spread good quality information.
to combine trips with public transport, complement or substitute altogether the car. This is where bike • Transnational organisations and institutions should support research, promotion and dissemination of
sharing systems (BSS) can and have already shown they can help to extend the use of the bicycle and so best practice in the bike sharing realm.
bring the benefits of cycling to a greater level. As of June 2014, public bike sharing systems were availa- • Businesses, citizens and cyclists’ groups should play a role in the provision, use and promotion of
ble in 50 countries on 5 continents, including 712 cities, operating approximately 806,000 bicycles. bike sharing systems.
Therefore, we, the undersigned Mayors and councilors recognise the following advantages of promoting
bike sharing systems and believe that the promotion of the following steps will help to improve con-
ditions for bike sharing so contributing to realising the significant potential benefits of bicycling in our
communities. Name:
By signing this Statement of Support for bike sharing, we recognise that bike sharing is:
• an important, accessible and affordable part of the urban mobility system.
• a very flexible transport option available to residents, visitors, business-people, young and less Position:
young.
• a very effective and visible tool to promote cycling and contribute to the sustainability of the overall
mobility system.
City of:
• a valuable component of the public transport offer and can work well supporting each other in a
mutually beneficial manner.
• something that can bring economic benefits in terms of health, reduced congestion and better air
quality, as well as increasing spending in the vicinity of bike stations and boosting the economy of Signature:
the cycling sector.
12Sponsors:
VeloCitta Consortium:
choi c e
The sole responsibility for the content of this document lies with the authors. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union.
Neither the EASME nor the European Commission are responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.Please send any comments or queries to:
Renske Martijnse | coordinator of VeloCittà: r.martijnse@dtvconsultants.nl
Pascal van den Noort | Dissemination / Communication Manager of VeloCittà: operations@velomondial.netYou can also read
