Rent-a-bike in Brussels grows (Belgium)
June 7, 2010 by allinx headquarters
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After one year of implementation, the system (Villo) now services 6500 loyal users. With respect to March 2010 that’s an increase of 1500 users.
In the beginning of June new stations will be opened in Schaarbeek, Jette, Koekelberg and St-Agatha Berchem. In the summer of 2010 the amount of stations will even double (from 86 to 180) with the new stations in Elsene and Etterbeek. This all fits into the completion of the first phase by the end of the summer. At that point, there will 2500 bicycle available throughout the Brussels Region.
The Villo-bike trips represent a total mileage of 1.2 million kilometres on one year. According to operator JC Decaux that represents a CO2-reduction of 240.633 tonnes. The system shows a sustained growth and noted peak days of more than 9000 trips per day in the month of May.
In order to attract even more sceptics to the system, Villo offers free seasonal cards this summer. He who registers before the end of summer, won’t pay a penny until the end of 2010. During the summer there will also be a special offer for businesses and hotels. They can offer Villo-bikes to their guests and customers more easily.
Finally, the operator indicates that the bikes are mainly used for very short trips. The mainframe of stations is built in a way that there’s only 400m between two stations, enabling users to grab and drop off a bike quickly and easy. Moreover, users don’t pay for trips under 30 minutes.
Source: TV Brussels
More info: Villo