Bucharest City Hall to organize international public tender for bike-sharing system

Bucharest mayor Gabriela Firea would want the Romanian capital to have a bike-sharing system similar to the ones in other European capitals. Thus, the City Hall is to organize an international public tender in the coming period, the mayor announced, according to local Agerpres. The bike-sharing service allows people to take a bicycle from one station, and then return it to another location. The bike stations would be arranged near schools, shops, universities, subway stations, and crowded areas, and the rental would be done based on a card. “The novelty will be that those interested in riding a bike could find the nearest station online, using the mobile phone,” Gabriela Firea said. However, for a bike-sharing system to be useful in Bucharest, the capital should also have a network of bike lanes. According to the mayor, all the lanes drawn up in the mobility plan will be put into operation in the coming period. “There will be more bike lanes in the capital,” Firea added. The project might kick-off next spring. Cluj-Napoca inaugurated a bike sharing system last year, after a EUR 3.2 million investment financed with EU funds. Romania wants to lure more tourists with cycling routes Draft bill: Romania aims to encourage bike purchase and use with voucher program Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com (Photo source: Wikipedia)