Ten years ago Barcelona was not a city you would ride a bicycle around. Fast forward to now and Bicing bicycles are all over the city and a part of the public transport network. For a mere 30 euros a year residents can become members, much like a gym membership and use the thousands of bicycles placed around the city. Using a swipe card the bikes are released from a magnetic lock and if their members return them within 15-minutes there is no extra charge, just the annual fee. With so many placed around the city this is quite easy to do. Those unlucky to not meet the time cut are only charged a small fee per quarter of an hour, so there is motivation to return the bike quickly.
This is a brilliant system which would be great in Manchester, Auckland… where ever! Manchester is a good cycling city. It is entirely flat yet not many people commute by bicycle despite the infrastructure such as cycle lanes everywhere. At my work alone, which is a temporary building for us, there are six showers on the ground floor and one shower on every other floor and this building was built for an IT company. Facilities are ready and waiting to be engaged when habits are overcome.
