The municipal bicycle rental system "Mein Rad" is finished.

The Wiesbaden-based mobility company ESWEVerkehr will switch off the app required for each rental process on the night of May 30th.

The 600 orange rental bikes are then collected at the current 89 rental stations.

They are to be sold.

Oliver Bock

Correspondent for the Rhein-Main-Zeitung for the Rheingau-Taunus district and for Wiesbaden.

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It is possible that the neighboring city of Mainz will take over some of the bikes that are almost identical in construction in the Rhineland-Palatinate state capital.

Mainz is also the reason why ESWE Managing Director Jan Görnemann announced the end of "Mein Rad" in Wiesbaden just now.

Because Mainz, since 2018 a cooperation partner in municipal bike rental, is making some changes and changing its partners.

Wiesbaden was faced with the choice of either going along or giving up the cooperation.

"We're pressing the reset button," says Görnemann.

ESWE speaks of an "interruption" and reorientation, because a mobility offer for "the first or the last mile", according to Görnemann, should be available again by spring 2023 at the latest.

However, ESWE will probably make such an offer in cooperation with proven private providers and will not develop a new one itself.

User numbers disappointing

Wiesbaden presented its rental system in July 2018 with great fanfare.

At that time, Lord Mayor Sven Gerich and his Mainz colleague Michael Ebling (both SPD) pedaled the 1.5-kilometer route from the main station to the Dernsche Gelände at the head of a bicycle parade, where the new local transport service was celebrated.

Hopes were high: at the time, Gerich announced that in a second step, the number of rental bikes would be increased to 1,200 and e-bikes would be added.

But that never happened because the user numbers were disappointing.

Instead of a steady climb, the curve flattened out quickly.

In April and May of this year, ESWE only registered 450 rentals per week.

In April it was only 1800. “Mein Rad” had developed into a veritable subsidy business.

Most recently, ESWE had to add almost 20 euros to each rental transaction to keep the system alive.

It would have been cheaper to have the willing city cyclist chauffeured by taxi.

The reasons for the economic failure of "Mein Rad" are manifold.

With "Nextbike" there was already a competitor on the market in Wiesbaden.

The Eswe bicycles, which weigh around 20 kilograms, were unsuitable for the Wiesbaden topography.

Too heavy, too clumsy, not attractive enough.

Not only were the bikes themselves not very comfortable, Görnemann also felt that the rental process was far too cumbersome and time-consuming, especially for occasional users such as tourists.

In addition, ESWE had to recognize that the electric scooters that have recently emerged are significantly more attractive for the important younger target group than a heavy rental bike without an electric motor.

"The world has moved on since 2018," says Görnemann about the changes in mobility behavior.

Nevertheless, he is convinced that "the bicycle has a future", also in Wiesbaden.

There should be another offer by spring 2023 at the latest

ESWE paid a lot for this knowledge.

According to Görnemann, around 1.4 million euros have been invested in the rental system so far.

Now a new concept is to be developed without Wiesbaden wanting to reinvent everything or handle everything itself.

The municipality must make better use of its "concession power" for the urban area and thus access to public paths, streets and squares, Görnemann specifies the line.

In the end there could be closer cooperation with experienced providers of electric bicycles and e-scooters.

"Our aim is to do things better in the future," says the Eswe managing director, referring to the disappointing user behavior for "Mein Rad".

There should be another offer by spring 2023 at the latest.

At least until then, ESWE wants to keep the rental stations in the city area that will not be used in a week in order to keep all options open for a new start, said Görnemann - and demonstratively deleted the "My bike app" from his smartphone.

Wiesbaden is one experience richer.

A rental system for bicycles is not a sure-fire success.