Lighter and more resistant to vandalism, new public bikes come out on the street Monday

The system has been granted for renewal, but remains free; next week, the first 50 stations with more modern rolling will be activated; users must re-register

They are ready, ready to go around the city. These are the first 500 new orange bikes in the public system that will be available from next Monday. The Buenos Aires government has ratified the fact that the Ecobici service will continue to be free, even if it is a private service. The revival can be seen in 50 renewed stations around the macrocentre, before the traditional yellow laminated stations are removed.

As part of the service transition, no public bicycles will be available between Friday and Sunday inclusive, the Buenos Aires Transportation Secretariat said.

The modernization of the service is in charge of the Brazilian company Tembici. Over the months and gradually, it will double the number of stations and the fleet: there will be 400 stations for the first half of this year and it will provide 4000 bicycles available to neighbors (there are 2500 today) . For the first time, the shots will be sponsored by the companies Itaú and MasterCard.

Although new bikes can be used from Monday, registration of users from the web is enabled from today.
baecobici.com.ar. Cyclists who have followed the procedure before approximately 300,000 people must also re-register. Within 72 hours, they receive a confirmation of the process. The next morning, in the meantime, the BA Ecobici application is activated.

Of the 200 existing stations, 94 are concerned by the replacement and had to be closed in the last two months to be replaced by more modern stations. The technology has been automated for the moments of withdrawal and return of vehicles. A yellow light indicates that the process is running. In three seconds, a small green light warns that the shot is ready for the walk.

This time, cyclists have the opportunity to prevent damage to the bike. "Is your bike broken?" Reads the anchor and a button is pressed with the drawing of a tool. The call for attention will reach the technicians, explained to the NATION Bruno Louçao, director of Tembici. The anchoring of each roll is, unlike the previous model, individual and users can choose the bike that they will take.

With the new system and the largest number of films filmed, 38 neighborhoods will be covered instead of the current 22. "Nearly 90% of residents will have an accessible station and a qualitative leap in service," said Buenos Aires Secretary of Transportation Juan José Méndez.

antecedents

Tembici, a company experienced in providing urban mobility projects in several Latin American cities, has won the call for tenders in mid-2018 to take over the public bicycle system for ten years, through an investment of 70 million US dollars. He also hired the 44 people who worked on the system for the Government of Buenos Aires. The use of the film remains free and, although funded by sponsor advertising, the City will disburse $ 60 million a year to "support the free system". Méndez affirmed that this value represents a saving of 50% for the public funds.

In 2013, the State of Buenos Aires, then under the mandate of Mauricio Macri, had planned to concede the service and charge with the help of bicycles, which ultimately did not prosper after a Amparo appeal presented by two opposition legislators.

How are the new bikes? They are armed with a reinforced aluminum frame that makes them stronger and requires less maintenance. They are more robust, but at the same time light. When the cyclist starts pedaling, the lights are automatically lit. The system allows a lighting autonomy for a minute and a half if the user stops at a fire, for example. The wheels are reinforced and have covers that prevent punctures.

Tomás Martins, CEO of Tembici, said: "With the best technology in the world, we will consolidate the bike as a means of transportation and we bet that Buenos Aires will be the city of Latin America with the largest number of trips. " The representative of the Itaú Bank, Juan O & # 39; Connor, director of the entity, added: "We have been involved in sustainable mobility projects for more than seven years". Both participated in the presentation of the new system.

Both the city and Tembici emphasized that new bikes have features that make them vandal-resistant. The bicycle seat, for example, is supported by a hose that is only used for this model and the screws are reinforced.

Between the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016, approximately 400 yellow units had to be taken out of service because they were down. Many shots were also stolen, resulting in a significant shortage of the system's fleet. Prior to the NATION consultation, the majority of users spoke of the poor condition in which they found the vehicles.

• Ezequiel Ponce 30 years old, user "I found the station empty and, in many cases, there are units, but they are not in state, so I end up walking on foot"
• Agustín Fernández 27 years old, user "I like to use bikes to roam the parks of Palermo, but I usually get very deflated tires, handlebars and brakes in very bad shape"
• Juan Bautista Terán 27 years old, user "The system is not reliable, last month in Recoleta, the application indicated that there were places available and, when I arrived, everything was busy and I finished to be late for a meeting. "
• Amalia Carnero 25 years old, user "They are very useful and they help me to save because I already spend too much for the collective, they are not always in the best conditions, but at least to transport they serve"
• Jimena Fernández 37 years old, user "As an environmentally friendly means of transportation, this seems like a good idea, but it often happens that there are no units in the train stations and I have to walk until the next . "

Increased use

The public bicycle system started at the end of 2010, when the Buenos Aires government launched a campaign for this means of transport in the context of a sustainable city. Three Ecobici stations launched the project, with personalized attention. There were about 100 trips a day. In 2015, the system was automated and operated 24 hours a day, every day of the week, what's left. The duration of use of each roll is from one hour, Monday to Friday, and two hours, weekends and holidays. By August 2017, the network had reached 200 stops.

Before Ecobici went into action, only 0.4% of trips in the city were made by bike. Today, this percentage reaches 4%, either because they are used in addition to another means of transport, or because they have become the main means of transport. Approximately 300,000 bike trips are made each day. among them, 16,000 with the public fleet.

There are already 227 kilometers of bike lanes and protected bike lanes in 41 of the 48 districts of Buenos Aires District. The government estimates that for this year the network will reach 250 kilometers. Felipe Miguel, chief of staff, stressed: "This initiative is one of those we propose to strengthen and improve public transport."