Self-service bike: in 13 years JCDecaux has changed urban mobility

Back in 2013, when JCDecaux was rolling out its very first self-service bike rental scheme in Vienna, few would have imagined that thirteen years later this very system would have changed mobility and city life globally. 

Since then more than 570 million bike journeys have been taken (nearly 72 million in 2016 alone) and this once pioneering self-service bike rental scheme is now a feature of the urban landscape in 13 countries, available 24/7 thanks to 600 employees who work tirelessly to offer unrivalled quality service. 

More than 3.9 million people a year hire one of the 52,000 bikes available in 70 cities, covering a total surface area of more than 10,000 Km², the equivalent of a country such as Lebanon. 3.2 million occasional users also use the scheme, for professional reasons and for leisure. From Vilnius, Lithuania to Toulouse, France and from Seville, Spain to the Russian steppes of Kazan, JCDecaux’s self-service bike rental schemes stand out because of their large networks and ease of use. Those systems are now a valid alternative for urban transit that complete and often substitue other transports and are used by diverse targets (for example, more than 12% of Parisians have an annual subscription to Vélib’, JCDecaux’s self-service bike rental scheme in Paris).

Thanks to this service, cities have become more accessible and eco-friendly, journeys can be planned easily via mobile devices and in the future this innovative drive will be even more evident with battery-powered bike, now under development.

Not only a top service for communities, but also a new media that brands can use to better communicate Out of Home.