"A boost for cycling mobility to diversify the transport offer and reduce the impact of road traffic on polluting emissions". This is how EL MUNDO in the area of ​​Environment and Mobility defines the concession of 4,800 temporary authorizations that the Madrid City Council will enable from today Wednesday for private electric bicycle leasing companies without fixed base due to "the growing demand" for this service in the short trips in the city.

A move that will triple the number of these vehicles in the city after the coronavirus health crisis. Currently, the BiciMad public service has 2,496, which will be 2,964 with the latest expansion announced by the mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, in 15 districts, and which will extend to 7,764 throughout the city when the year 2020 ends with the arrival of these new operators.

These bicycles will be divided into two groups: inside the M-30 and outside this perimeter, according to the consulted municipal sources. In the first, a total of 2,000 will be included, while in the second, that number will rise to 2,800 to complete the total figure of 4,800. A number that is the maximum allowed by article 85 of the Sustainable Mobility Ordinance that regulates that these vehicles may not exceed 50% of the existing spaces in a parking reservation, which in Madrid is 9,600 spaces.

From the team led by Borja Carabante, they affirm that these "temporary" and "free" authorizations will be granted through competitive public competition until August 31, 2021 , extendable for six months depending on demand, and that once the companies have been granted they will have the obligation to deploy at least half of its fleet before September 1 and the remaining 50% no more than two months later, on November 1.

In addition, according to the sources consulted by this newspaper, the corporation will require to geolocate the vehicles, access the control panel to evaluate their use and may withdraw the permits in case of non-compliance with the obligations established by the regulations. In addition, it establishes "guarantee universal accessibility without the abusive use of public space", "place bicycles in specific parking reserves" and "do not start or end a journey on priority pedestrian streets, sidewalks or pedestrian spaces adjacent to historic parks like the Retreat » .

In terms of hygiene, the City Council establishes that companies must guarantee daily virucidal disinfection of their vehicles as well as the obligation for their users to use gloves and a mask. Conditions that the municipal government has already set for BiciMad, after it was rehabilitated after the coronavirus crisis.

A service that since its return on April 22, after two months suspended, has been growing to over 12,000 daily uses , according to data from the Environment and Mobility area itself.

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Know more

  • Coronavirus
  • Covid 19
  • Descaled
  • BiciMAD
  • Madrid
  • Town planning
  • José Luis Martínez-Almeida

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