The Swedish city of Stockholm has a program, almost free of charge, of electric bicycles to circulate through its streets and manage without CO2 emissions. This new service replaces Stockholm City Bikes, which was in operation between 2006 and 2008. Following the closure of the service, the Swedish capital began to be flooded with electric scooters being shared. In view of this, the government initiative is to restart the bicycle program but with a more modern approach.
For Daniel Mohlin, regional manager of Inurba Mobility in the Nordic countries, “the general public is pretty tired of e-scooters lying around.” This firm won the seven-year contract for this new bike-sharing program. “The most common comment has been, finally, there is something to replace e-scooters,” Mohlin sentenced.
Stockholm eBikes is the name of the new service that started relatively small. Last summer it had a little over a thousand bicycles, while for the coming summer season it is expected to have more than five thousand. All machines are electric and, moreover, at a very low cost. “It’s a truly unique system,” posited Mohlin, who also made it clear that it stands out “in terms of technology as well as configuration and price in combination with it.”
Electric bicycles at rock-bottom prices
The company’s website shows the rental rates for this type of vehicle to drive around the streets of Stockholm. The 24-hour plan, with the unlocking of a birodado and being able to enjoy it for the whole day, costs about 11 kroner, which would be something like 98 cents. If we continue to look at plans we find a 7-day plan for 26 kronor, something like 2.32 dollars. For one month we are talking about 3.12 dollars, about 35 kronor. Meanwhile, a full year’s rental with unlimited 90-minute rides costs 157 kronor, which is about $14. In case extra time is needed, the cost per additional hour is one dollar, about 11 Swedish kronor.
The invention and proliferation of electric bicycles has shared potential ahead. In addition to being useful thanks to pedaling, it also adds to the lack of effort when having to climb hills or ride at “high” speeds. The cost increase of this system can be seen in the issue of the battery surcharge.
A view from around the world
Taking a somewhat more global or perspective look, in New York, a monthly membership for this type of bike sharing system is $15.42 per month. In the United States, the firm Lyft has most of these electric bikes. In addition, there are much higher values in other parts of the country.
Other cities, such as London or Barcelona, also have this bike sharing system. Paris has one of the most affordable prices in Europe, at just under €9 per month, which allows two 45-minute trips free of charge, after which one euro must be paid for each trip.
