Madrid bike sharing scheme

Madrid's new bike sharing scheme, which was due to start on 1 May, has now been delayed, with no new date given for the start up.

The project, which was awarded to Bonopark under a €25 million 10-year contract, envisages 1,560 electrical booster bikes at 120 bike stations throughout the city. The batteries have an 18-hour autonomy and a GPS anti-theft system. The initial system will probably start with just a handful of bikes and stations.

Biking in Madrid had risen by 17 per cent in the last year, according to the city, but most of the bicycling is outside the centre which still lacks facilites such as dedicated bike lanes. The lanes that do exist have to be shared with other traffic, although bikes are given precedence.

There is an annual €25 subscription and then a cost of 50 cents for the first half hour, 60 cents for the next half hour and €4 for each successive hour. Prices for those who do not have a subscription are higher. Tourists will probably have to put down a deposit of about €150 before getting a daily card.

For more information and how to use the bikes lanes see the dedicated website.